Convicted former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III is being productive in prison, as he recently graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s degree.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Ruggs, 26, was in August 2023 sentenced to 3-10 years in prison in Las Vegas after he agreed to plead guilty to a pair of charges following a fiery 2021 drunk driving car crash that claimed the lives of Tina Tintor and her dog.
Per TMZ, Ruggs graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Business Administration, and his name appeared in that section during the Tide’s fall commencement ceremony. Jordan Schultz, who is an NFL insider, also reported that Ruggs earned a 4.0 GPA after the semester.
In the wake of the deadly crash, Ruggs agreed to plead guilty to charges of DUI resulting in death and vehicular manslaughter; hence, additional charges against him were dismissed, KVVU reported.
The police said that Ruggs was driving as fast as 156 MPH and had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit when his Chevrolet Corvette struck and killed Tintor in her Toyota RAV4 on the morning of November 2, 2021.
READ ALSO: Convicted ex-NFL star Henry Ruggs apologizes to family of deceased DUI crash victim
The Las Vegas Raiders parted ways with him the day after the crash. The former NFL star had been under house arrest with alcohol and location electronic monitoring devices after he entered the guilty plea in May 2023.
And though Ruggs has reached an academic milestone, he recently experienced a setback, as the Nevada Department of Corrections informed TMZ Sports that the 26-year-old has been transferred to a medium-security prison in Northern Nevada. Ruggs was initially serving his sentence in a minimum-security transitional housing center in Las Vegas.
The Nevada Department of Corrections did not disclose the reason behind Ruggs’ being moved to a medium-security prison. But they highlighted that “if offenders commit infractions while at a lower-level custody, depending on the nature and severity, they could be reverted back to a higher level of custody.”
Ruggs was the Raiders’ first draft pick after the franchise arrived in Las Vegas. The 26-year-old was taken 12th overall in 2020 and played 20 games for the franchise.
He is eligible for parole in August 2026.
