Former Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs transferred to Reno transitional housing

Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs was transferred earlier this month to a minimum-custody transitional housing facility in Reno, a state corrections official said.

Ruggs, 27, was approved as a “community trusty” in July and was transferred to Northern Nevada Transitional Housing on Sept. 4, Nevada Department of Corrections spokesperson Teri Vance said in a Friday email.

Ruggs was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in 2023 after pleading guilty to DUI resulting in death and vehicular manslaughter in the 2021 crash that killed Las Vegas resident Tina Tintor, 23, and her golden retriever.

A trusty is a minimum-custody offender who is allowed to work outside of a closed institution, Vance said. She said the transitional housing center is intended to house eligible nonviolent offenders who were not convicted of sex offenses and who are within 18 months of their parole eligibility dates.

“The main purpose is to allow trusties the opportunity to seek work and secure permanent housing prior to reintegrating into society,” Vance said.

Vance did not say where Ruggs was working. Ruggs’ attorney David Chesnoff said he was unavailable to provide comment.

In June, the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners denied Ruggs’ bid for parole. Commissioner Sandy Schmitt said previously that Ruggs was eligible for parole beginning on Aug. 5 and had a mandatory parole date of Aug. 24, 2027. She added guidelines recommended that Ruggs be paroled at his first or second hearing.

At the time of the 2021 crash, Ruggs was speeding down Rainbow Boulevard in a Corvette Stingray when he struck the rear of Tintor’s SUV, according to authorities.

Ruggs was driving 156 mph seconds before the crash, and authorities said his blood alcohol content was 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit.

Ruggs, a former first-round NFL draft pick for the Raiders and a University of Alabama standout, was previously incarcerated at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported at the time of the parole board’s June 11 decision.

The Review-Journal previously reported Ruggs was serving his sentence in Casa Grande Transitional Housing, a dormitory-style facility in Las Vegas for nonviolent offenders, after being moved there in 2024.

Ruggs was initially booked into High Desert State Prison near Indian Springs before he was transferred to Stewart Conservation Camp in Carson City one month into his sentence. While at the camp, Ruggs was in a work program that placed him at the Governor’s Mansion.