Former Raider Henry Ruggs III found himself back in court Monday after missing a court-mandated alcohol test. According to the Associated Press, Ruggs will remain on house arrest.
Ruggs risked heading back to jail after he missed a call to take a breath test, but the judge opted to keep Ruggs on house arrest, but this time under a higher level of monitoring. Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum also warned Ruggs that if he were to mess up again, whether it be missing another test or if there is any proof that he is drinking, it would be 'problematic' moving forward.
“But if there are any misses, if there are any problems, if there is any alcohol detected in your system, you need to know that’s going to be problematic for this court going forward,” she said.
Ruggs made bail and was put on house arrest after he was involved in a car crash on Nov. 2 that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog. Ruggs was driving his Corvette at 156 mph and had a BAC level over two times the legal limit. As a part of his house arrest, Ruggs was required to submit to alcohol testing four times a day while wearing a monitor.
On Nov. 13, Ruggs missed a call at 4:41 p.m for a test, prompting him to submit his own 'client-initiated remote breath test' less than two hours later. The test came back negative according to Ruggs' lawyer, David Chesnoff.
“Henry still did the right thing by testing within the window,” Chesnoff said, standing with Ruggs before the judge. “He should not be punished because his case attracts so much attention.”
Two people that were with Ruggs on Nov. 13 claim they did not hear his alcohol monitor make a noise at the time of the missed call. Ruggs submitted a new phone number to the monitoring system.
Ruggs is set to appear back in court on Dec. 16 for a hearing on two felony driving under the influence charges that carry mandatory prison time of two to 20 years if he’s convicted, plus felony reckless driving and a misdemeanor weapon charge after police found a loaded handgun in his Corvette.
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