DeVonta Smith on Henry Ruggs III: ‘I’m going to always have his back’

On Aug. 9, Henry Ruggs III[1] learned his punishment for his role in a wreck that took the life of a 23-year-old Las Vegas woman – a court appearance that ended 21 months of electronic monitoring and sent the former NFL wide receiver to prison for at least three years.

DeVonta Smith[2] was in Las Vegas for the sentencing instead of at practice with the Philadelphia Eagles, who held their training-camp workout at Lincoln Financial Field that day instead of their NovaCare Complex facility.

MORE NFL[3]:

· STEELERS ‘PLANNING ON NAJEE BEING NAJEE’ WHEN THE SEASON STARTS[4]

· PATRIOTS QB WANTS TO BRING BACK ‘ALABAMA MAC’[5]

· IS THERE A POINT OF NO RETURN FOR JOSH JACOBS, RAIDERS?[6]

Why did the Eagles wide receiver think it was important to make a trip to Las Vegas between Philadelphia’s practices of Aug. 8 and Aug. 10?

During an appearance on this week’s “The Pivot Podcast[7],” Smith explained the bond that developed between him and Ruggs when they were teammates for three seasons at Alabama.

“Since Day 1 stepping foot on campus that was my brother,” Smith said[8]. “We wasn’t roommates the first year, but he was the guy that kind of got me out of my shell. Anytime I was just sitting in the room, he was the one person that just came over there, came in the room and just chilled with me and things like that, and the relationship just kind of grew.

“After that, we were roommates, and it just always stuck with me. His family coming over, my family coming over, we all getting to know each other and things like that. Every day, that was the person that I was with, the guy that I was talking to. That’s the person that I trusted the most. Like I said, I had trust issues talking to people, but he was the guy I always talked to. Anytime something was going on, he was the person I was talking to, and he just made me feel like I was family.

“I went down to Montgomery with him a couple of times and things like that, and it was just always feeling like family. Since then, it just always stuck with me, and that’s going to forever be my brother, so no matter what, I’m going to always have his back even through anything that’s going on.”

RELATED: JUDGE SENTENCES HENRY RUGGS III TO PRISON FOR FATAL WRECK[9]

Smith and Ruggs played as teammates for the Crimson Tide in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Smith stayed one more season at Alabama and won the Heisman Trophy in 2020.

The Las Vegas Raiders chose Ruggs at No. 12 in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Eagles chose Smith at No. 10 in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The wide receivers were on opposite sidelines on Oct. 24, 2021, when the Raiders defeated the Eagles 33-22 in Las Vegas. Smith caught five passes for 61 yards and Ruggs had four receptions for 24 yards in the game.

Nine days later, Ruggs was arrested after a deadly traffic crash in Las Vegas.

The State of Nevada contended Ruggs was at fault in a deadly accident that occurred in Las Vegas at 3:39 a.m. Nov. 2, 2021. That’s when a Corvette driven by Ruggs struck a Toyota RAV4 driven by Tina Tintor. Tintor and her dog died in the fiery wreck.

Law-enforcement authorities say[10] Ruggs’ Corvette was traveling at 156 mph 2.5 seconds before impact and 127 mph at the time of the collision. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department used data from the car’s airbag control module to find those speeds.

The Clark County Office of the Coroner determined[11] Tintor died from “thermal injuries due to a motor-vehicle collision.”

The Coroner’s Office also determined that significant conditions contributing to Tintor’s death “were inhalation of products of combustion, fractures of the nasal bones, right-sided ribs and left forearm, and a left hemothorax.” (A hemothorax is a collection of blood in the space between the chest wall and the lung.)

The Las Vegas police department reported[12] tests on Ruggs at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada within two hours of the accident showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.161 percent. The legal limit in Nevada is 0.08 percent.

“One split-second decision, anything can happen – bad things,” Smith said[13] when asked what he’d learned from Ruggs’ situation. “And also who’s with you and who’s not through tough times. Who’s going to be there no matter what’s going on? At the end of the day, you’re still family. Everybody know bad decisions happen, but at the end of the day, that’s still family. You’re not going to just turn your back on him because of something like that.”

Originally, Ruggs was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, two counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm and possession of a gun under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

But Ruggs was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a deal with the Clark County (Nevada) District Attorney’s Office.

Steve Wolfson, the Clark County district attorney, said “there was legitimate concern[14]” the results of Ruggs’ blood-alcohol test would have been suppressed at trial, which would have made convicting Ruggs of felony DUI impossible.

RELATED: WHY DID HENRY RUGGS III GET A PLEA DEAL AFTER BEING CHARGED IN A DEADLY WRECK?[15]

Judge Jennifer Schwartz of the 8th Judicial District abided by the plea arrangement when she sentenced Ruggs to from three to 10 years of incarceration[16] by the Nevada State Department of Corrections.

Ruggs will serve at least three years in prison. He then will become eligible for parole. The maximum time that he could spend in prison is 10 years.

Ruggs is at High Desert State Prison[17] near Indian Wells, Nevada. High Desert is a medium-maximum security facility with a capacity of 4,176 prisoners.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE[18][19]

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.[20]

References

  1. ^ Henry Ruggs III (www.al.com)
  2. ^ DeVonta Smith (www.al.com)
  3. ^ MORE NFL (www.al.com)
  4. ^ STEELERS ‘PLANNING ON NAJEE BEING NAJEE’ WHEN THE SEASON STARTS (www.al.com)
  5. ^  PATRIOTS QB WANTS TO BRING BACK ‘ALABAMA MAC’ (www.al.com)
  6. ^  IS THERE A POINT OF NO RETURN FOR JOSH JACOBS, RAIDERS? (www.al.com)
  7. ^ The Pivot Podcast (www.youtube.com)
  8. ^ Smith said (www.youtube.com)
  9. ^ JUDGE SENTENCES HENRY RUGGS III TO PRISON FOR FATAL WRECK (www.al.com)
  10. ^ Law-enforcement authorities say (www.al.com)
  11. ^  Clark County Office of the Coroner determined (www.al.com)
  12. ^ Las Vegas police department reported (www.al.com)
  13. ^ Smith said (www.youtube.com)
  14. ^ there was legitimate concern (www.al.com)
  15. ^ WHY DID HENRY RUGGS III GET A PLEA DEAL AFTER BEING CHARGED IN A DEADLY WRECK? (www.al.com)
  16. ^ sentenced Ruggs to from three to 10 years of incarceration (www.al.com)
  17. ^ High Desert State Prison (doc.nv.gov)
  18. ^ AL.COM (AL.COM)
  19. ^ NFL PAGE (www.al.com)
  20. ^ @AMarkG1 (twitter.com)