LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Henry Ruggs III is out of jail after posting $150,000 bail. He's still facing charges of DUI resulting in death in connection with the crash that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor.
Bail amounts can vary from the low thousands to the millions of dollars. One DUI case in 2013 involving a Nevada teen had an initial bail amount of $3.5 million. So why do these amounts vary?
RELATED: Henry Ruggs no longer listed on Clark County Detention Center detention records
13 Action News spoke with Chip Siegel, a Las Vegas defense attorney, to find out how bail is set in the state of Nevada.
Siegel says the purpose of bail is to allow someone who's been arrested to remain free until they're convicted of a crime while making sure that person will return to court. He says judges have a scoring system to help them determine how much bail should be.
LATEST: Full coverage of fatal crash involving Raiders' Ruggs III
"They're going to look at about eight different factors," said Siegel. "Does a person have any other active cases? Well, if not, they're not dangerous. How old was the person when they were arrested the first time? Somebody who's been in trouble as a juvenile is going to have more problems than somebody who's 40 and has never been in trouble before. Do they have any prior misdemeanor convictions? Do they have any prior gross misdemeanor convictions? Do they have any prior felony convictions? Those convictions, are they violent or non-violent? Is the person going to show up in court?"
RELATED STORIES:
"So they look at what is called 'failures to appear,'" he explained. "Is it a person with a substance abuse problem? So, all those things are going to be going against a person when they're scored."
Siegel says other factors judges will consider when setting bail include: how long they've lived in a community, their work history and status, relationships with family and friends, their reputation and mental condition, the nature of the crime they've been charged with, the danger they may pose to the victim or the community, and the likelihood they could commit more crimes if they're released.
Then, if the judge determines that a person can safely be released, they will determine how high to set monetary bail based on what's fair financially.
RELATED STORIES:
"You can have person a. who, if you set $5,000 bail and you said, 'Oh, you can go to a bondsman to pay $750.' Well, if you're living week to week and you're at a Siegel Suites, that's gonna be unfair compared to somebody else who's like, '$5,000? I'm just gonna throw this on my Amex card!' So we need to equalize those things," said Siegel.
Bail is not always based on money. Sometimes it's a set of conditions that the person has to meet. And not everyone is granted bail. The judge can deny bail when they consider the defendant a flight or safety risk.
