Judge to allow BAC as evidence in case against Henry Ruggs
Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was charged with multiple felonies in November, including driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless driving, after a fatal car accident killed a 23-year-old woman and her dog. Ruggs has been under house arrest since then, but a preliminary hearing to see if he'll go to trial has been delayed four times.
The hearing is now set for Sept. 7, and on Tuesday, a Las Vegas judge ruled that Ruggs' blood-alcohol content can be used as evidence in the case.
"There's obvious time constraints in applying for a search warrant for a blood draw," Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman said, according to an ESPN report. "Nobody has mentioned so far that Mr. Ruggs was seriously injured in this accident and transported to the hospital, so he would have been unable to submit to field sobriety tests. Coupled with his refusal to answer questions, this does not result in a reward. ... Motion to suppress is denied."
It was reported in the days following the crash that Ruggs' attorneys were fighting to keep their client's medical records from prosecutors. The 2020 first-round pick is accused of driving 156 miles per hour while drunk, and authorities say Ruggs' blood-alcohol content was 0.16 — more than twice Nevada's legal limit.
A lawyer for Ruggs, David Chesnoff, argued there was no probable cause for the tests, which were conducted approximately two hours after the crash. He said that officers at the scene knew they didn't have enough evidence for probable cause and that involvement in the fiery crash wasn't enough.
"And that's what's wrong," he said, according to the ESPN report. "It does matter, and it has to matter because, if it doesn't matter, then we are in lawless society."
If he's convicted, Ruggs faces a minimum of two years and a maximum of 50 years in prison.
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