LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas judge told attorneys for Henry Ruggs III on Wednesday to get their own subpoena for fire department records about the fatal crash and fire the former Raiders wide receiver is accused of causing by driving drunk at speeds up to 156 mph.
Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum told attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld during a brief hearing that she didn’t agree with the effort and a court order from her wasn’t needed.
The lawyers have said in court filings that a witness told them firefighters were slow to extinguish flames in the vehicle in which Tina Tintor, 23, died on Nov. 2. They have not identified the witness.
A Clark County spokesman has said there were no delays in the firefighting response or the attack on the fire.
Witnesses told police they tried to rescue Tintor. But they were turned back by heat, flames and smoke.
Ruggs, 22, was released by the Raiders after the crash. He’s free on $150,000 bail under strict home confinement with electronic monitoring and four-times-a-day alcohol checks while the case proceeds.
Records show Ruggs owns a $1.1 million home not far from where the crash occurred.
He’s due for a preliminary hearing of evidence Dec. 16 on two felony charges of driving under the influence causing death or serious injury that could get him at least two years of mandatory prison time each if he’s convicted, and as much as 40 years. He faces two additional felony reckless driving counts and a misdemeanor weapon charge after a loaded handgun was found in his wrecked Chevrolet Corvette.
Authorities say Ruggs and his girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, were injured when Ruggs’ sports car slammed into the rear of Tintor’s Toyota Rav4, rupturing that vehicle’s fuel tank.
Prosecutors said Ruggs suffered a leg injury and Washington underwent surgery for an arm injury.
Chesnoff and Schonfeld are fighting separately to block prosecutors from accessing Ruggs’ medical records, and an attorney for Washington has launched a similar effort on her behalf. A Dec. 8 hearing is scheduled.
The Raiders made Ruggs their first pick in the 2020 NFL draft from Alabama, where he helped the Crimson Tide win the 2017 NCAA championship. He had been an emerging star for the Raiders this season.
