Henry Ruggs III remains under house arrest after missed test, to have increased monitoring

LAS VEGAS — Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III received a stern talking-to from a Las Vegas judge but was allowed to remain under house arrest with a continuous alcohol monitor on one ankle and a GPS monitor on the other following a fatal crash he’s accused of causing by driving drunk.

Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum told Ruggs and his lawyers she was “comfortable with a higher level of monitoring” after a hearing about a delay in Ruggs providing a remote breath alcohol test with a hand-held device on Nov. 13.

“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.

Attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said their client took a test anyway “out of an abundance of caution” on Nov. 13 and met a three-hour requirement by submitting the negative test.

“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.”

Since his Nov. 3 release from jail on $150,000 bail, Ruggs has passed more than 77 breath alcohol tests, his lawyer told the judge.

Ruggs’ lawyers also submitted testimonials from two people who said they were with Ruggs when he missed the call Nov. 13 and didn’t hear a signal from the monitor.

Las Vegas police still have Ruggs’ cellphone, Chesnoff said, and he has now provided a new phone number to the monitoring system, SCRAM of Nevada.

The hand-held device emitted a signal while Ruggs stood before the judge, requiring Ruggs to submit a breath test after his court hearing.

Police and prosecutors say Ruggs, 22, and his girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, were injured in the predawn Nov. 2 crash, when Ruggs’ Chevrolet Corvette slammed into the rear of a Toyota Rav4 that caught fire.

Tina Tintor and her dog died in the crash. She was 23.

Chesnoff didn’t specify Ruggs’…