LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A defense motion to move former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III's criminal case back to Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Joe Bonaventure's court was denied Monday morning.
This comes after Bonaventure recused himself from the case, citing comments he previously made about it during his campaign for re-election to the court.
Ruggs is charged with driving under the influenceafter allegedly crashing into an SUV driven by 23-year-old Tina Tintor on Nov. 2, 2021. Tintor and her dog, Max, died after their vehicle burst into flames, trapping them inside. Police said Ruggs was driving over 150 mph when he crashed into Tintor around 3:40 a.m. near Rainbow Boulevard and Spring Valley Parkway.
In a hearing last week, Ruggs' defense team from the law firm of Chesnoff and Schonfeld argued the case shouldremain in Judge Bonaventure's court, since he oversees DUI cases.
While Clark County prosecutors indicated they had no position on the motion, Ruggs' defense appealed to Justice Court's Chief Judge, Cynthia Cruz. However, Judge Cruz indicated she was not available to discuss the matter with both parties.
Judge Harmony Letizia, in whose court the case now resides, said she felt she had no authority to order the case back to Bonaventure's court.
"I have no authority to tell Judge Bonaventure either to make an additional order or to rescind the case back to him...for him to make an order," Letizia told defense attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld on Monday. "Because Justice Court 9 is not an inferior tribunal to Justice Court 3, I have no jurisdiction to rule on this issue, so I'm denying it based on that."
Chesnoff said the defense plans to appeal that ruling to Eighth Judicial District Court.
Also on Monday, Ruggs' defense team repeated their intent to file a new motion to suppress blood evidence in the case. However, they told Judge Letizia they don't want that motion to prejudice their jurisdictional argument.
A previous motion to suppress evidence of Ruggs' blood alcohol content was heard in July of 2022 and denied.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson previously told reporters Ruggs' blood alcohol content was .16 after the crash — about twice the legal limit in Nevada.
