Henry Ruggs III saga continues behind the fatal car crash that left Tina Tintor and her dog burned to death after being trapped inside her SUV in November 2021. The former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver hearing was delayed by a Nevada judge to determine whether he will stand trial for his fatal car crash. It was noted that the reason for the delay was because the proceedings can’t continue until the case is properly assigned to a judge in the lower court.
Will Henry Ruggs Get A Fair Trial?
Ruggs’ lawyers, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, filed a request on Monday that would block Las Vegas Justice of Peace Ann Zimmerman from presiding over the case.
Zimmerman had been presiding over all DUI cases in Las Vegas, including Ruggs’, as part of a specialty program. All of the other DUI cases were transferred to another appointed judge but somehow Ruggs case remained on Zimmerman’s calendar and Ruggs’ lawyers believe this was no coincidence.
According to News 3 Las Vegas, Chesnoff and Schonfeld argued that Zimmerman is doing this to “single out” Ruggs and violated an administrative order assigning all DUI cases not involving domestic violence to a single judge.
“Mr. Ruggs has dutifully been defending himself in a very difficult case. This is a critical stage of a criminal proceeding, and a judge just walks down the hall and goes to another judge and says, ‘This is what I want to do,’” said Chesnoff.
Chesnoff and Schonfeld reached out through email to Zimmerman after finding out she requested to keep the case on her calendar. She did respond to them after not making a public statement to the media and said, “It is not uncommon or extraordinary for a judge to retain a case to finish hearing it.”
Henry Ruggs New Hearing
Clark County District Judge Jennifer Schwartz rescheduled the hearing that was originally scheduled for this past Wednesday to March 22, which she is expected to deliver a ruling on whether Ruggs will go to trial.
According to the court filing, Zimmerman stated that her and the new specialty judge presiding over DUI cases came to an agreement that she would continue to hear the case because she previously made some substantial rulings.
Her decision came after stating she would like a swift resolution to the situation. She is giving the district attorney’s office a chance to file court papers and present their case on Feb. 24.
Then, Schwartz set another hearing for March 10 to respond to paperwork filed by the district attorney’s office on Feb.24.
Ruggs Current Conditions
He is still an NFL free agent and has no plans for his football future. He was seen spotted in September 2022 working out at a local high school.
Since when was Henry Ruggs free? #NFL #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/t6it6WCHGT
— Nick (@nickiswashed) September 18, 2022
Ruggs is currently released on bond and is wearing a house arrest monitor. He is wearing a GPS monitor on one ankle and one to monitor his alcohol intake on the other ankle. He also has a handheld device that he must blow in when alerted by the device.
Neither nor Tintor’s familes have yet to comment on the postponed hearing.
