Ex-Raiders player Henry Ruggs sentenced in fatal DUI crash

Nearly two years after their lives were ripped apart, Tina Tintor’s family members made a public statement to a crowded courtroom on Wednesday, remembering the 23-year-old woman who was selfless, loved animals and was killed in a fiery crash caused by former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs.

“Every parent’s worst nightmare is to create a beautiful child just to have them taken away at the hands of another’s negligence,” Tintor’s cousin, Daniel Strbac, read from a statement prepared by her mother, Mirjana Komazec, during Ruggs’ sentencing hearing. “There are very few words to explain the feelings of losing a child. It is a pain we feel every day.”

District Judge Jennifer Schwartz called the crash “one of the more tragic cases I’ve seen.” She sentenced Ruggs to between three and 10 years in prison, a term stipulated in a guilty plea agreement Ruggs signed in May.

Ruggs pleaded guilty to a felony charge of DUI resulting in death and a count of vehicular manslaughter, a misdemeanor charge for which the judge sentenced Ruggs to six-months in prison, to be served at the same time as the lengthier sentence.

In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the court proceedings over the past two years have been “one of the more difficult cases” his administration has overseen.

He reiterated that he discussed the guilty plea with Tintor’s family, and that he feared the charges against Ruggs could have been dismissed or reduced if the case did not resolve with the plea deal, due to issues over a search warrant police used to draw Ruggs’ blood at the hospital following the crash.

“I think under the circumstances, we did the best we could,” Wolfson said.

Ruggs was speeding down Rainbow Boulevard on Nov. 2, 2021, fresh off a night at TopGolf with his girlfriend, when he slammed his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray into the back of Tintor’s SUV. The Stingray, which Ruggs was driving up to 156 mph just seconds before the crash, collided so violently that Tintor’s vehicle was consumed by flames, with her and her dog trapped inside, police have said.

Tintor died of her injuries from the fire and collision. Prosecutors have said that after the crash, Ruggs’ blood alcohol level was 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit for drivers in Nevada. Ruggs was released from the Raiders shortly after the crash.

In court Wednesday, Ruggs apologized to Tintor’s family and said “my actions are not a true reflection of me,” and that he had “no excuse” for the crash.

“Over the past 21 months, I’ve certainly had to find the answers to explain myself and my behavior on that day,” he said.

His attorney, David Chesnoff, told the judge that “what Henry fully accepts is that his decision caused Ms. Tintor’s death.” Ruggs’ other defense attorney, Richard Schonfeld, briefly embraced his client before he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs after the hearing.

In a sentencing memo filed last week, his’ attorneys wrote that Ruggs came from a “destabilizing” home life, moved out of the house in high school and dedicated his football career to his best friend, who died in a car crash in 2016. He underwent six months of mental health treatment for a PTSD diagnosis following the crash that killed Tintor, according to court documents.

“The message that hasn’t come across is that from day one, until today and into the future, Henry is truly remorseful,” Chesnoff told reporters after the hearing.

‘Beauty and life’

A few details about Tintor emerged in the aftermath of the fatal crash. She was a 2016 graduate of Durango High School, worked at a local Target, dreamed of being a computer programmer and had gotten a job at an insurance company shortly before her death. Tintor had lived in Las Vegas since she was a baby, after her family fled war-torn Serbia, her friends said.

Tintor “only saw the beauty and the life in every soul,” her cousin read from her mother’s statement on Wednesday in front of the packed courtroom.

The statement described Tintor as a kind and selfless woman. She was known for rescuing stray animals, “because she could not imagine leaving them in distress,” and her best friend was her dog Max, who was also killed in the crash.

Komazec wrote that her family hopes Ruggs will be able to watch his own young daughter grow up.

“We pray that this terrible accident inspires positive change in the world,” Strbac said.

Farhan Naqvi, a personal injury attorney who represents Tintor’s family, told reporters after the hearing that he hopes the resolution of the criminal case brings some “semblance of healing” and will remind the public about the dangers of drinking and driving.

“There’s absolutely forgiveness in her heart,” Naqvi said of Tintor’s mother, “and the hope that lives are saved because of what happened.”

Search warrant conflicts

Ruggs initially faced charges of DUI resulting in death, DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm, two counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm and possession of a firearm while under the influence.

The case stalled as attorneys argued over which District Court judge should oversee the proceedings and the validity of the search warrant used to take Ruggs’ blood. Ruggs, who was also injured in the crash, was not given a field sobriety test at the scene, and an officer failed to tell the judge who approved the search warrant if Ruggs had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol or had been drinking.

“It’s real easy to play Monday morning quarterback and say on Monday what you’d like to have done on Sunday, so I’m not going to criticize the police,” Wolfson said Wednesday when asked about the officers’ roles in the search warrant.

Wolfson said if the search warrant had been suppressed, then Ruggs could have instead faced a reckless driving charge and have been sentenced to probation.

Ruggs is the latest athlete whose criminal case has recently resolved in District Court. Last month, New Orleans Saints player Alvin Kamara, who is also represented by Chesnoff and Schonfeld, reached a plea deal to serve community service in connection with an alleged brawl at a Strip casino.

Wolfson said the decisions in Ruggs’ case came down to complex legal issues and his desire to ensure Ruggs received a prison sentence.

“Some people do get better lawyers than others, that’s a fact, and the better lawyers fight harder,” he said. “But at the end of the day we make decisions based upon the law and the facts.”

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.