Rae Carruth: Difference between revisions
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| status = In custody |
| status = In custody |
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| occupation = Professional football player |
| occupation = Professional football player |
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| spouse = |
| spouse = Renadda Wiggins |
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| parents = |
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| children = Chancellor Lee Adams |
| children = Chancellor Lee Adams |
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Revision as of 08:42, 28 March 2009
| No. 83, 84, 86, 89 | |
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| Position: | Wide Receiver |
| Career information | |
| College: | Colorado |
| NFL draft: | 1997 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27 |
| Career history | |
Rae Carruth (birth name Raelamar Theotis Wiggins) | |
|---|---|
| File:Rae Carruth mugshot North Carolina DOC.jpg Inmate photo of Rae Carruth. | |
| Status | In custody |
| Occupation | Professional football player |
| Spouse | Renadda Wiggins |
| Children | Chancellor Lee Adams |
| Conviction(s) | Conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, using an instrument to destroy an unborn child |
| Criminal penalty | 291 months, 25 days |
Rae Carruth, (born Raelamar Theotis Wiggins[1] on January 20, 1974 in Sacramento, California) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers. In 2001, he was found guilty of conspiring to murder his girlfriend and is currently serving a prison sentence.[2]
Biography
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Carruth attended Valley High School in Sacramento, California and played four seasons at the University of Colorado. He was named a first-team All-American in 1996. His college quarterbacks were future NFL quarterbacks Koy Detmer and Kordell Stewart. Carruth was a first-round draft pick (27th overall pick) in the 1997 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers, signing a four year, $3.7 million deal. He was represented by NFL super agent William "Tank" Black.
He proceeded to have a respectable rookie season, starting 14 games. Wearing uniform number 89, Carruth was on the receiving end of 44 passes for 545 yards (12.4 yards/catch), both of which led all rookie receivers. Carruth also caught four touchdown passes, tied for first among rookie receivers. He was named to the all-rookie team at wide receiver, along with Reidel Anthony of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Big things were expected of Carruth for the 1998 season. However, he broke his right foot in the opening game and did not catch another pass that season due to the injury. He ended the year with four catches for 59 yards. Carruth played in the first six games of the 1999 season, totaling 14 catches for 200 yards.
Criminal history
On November 16, 1999, near Carruth's home in Charlotte, North Carolina; Cherica Adams, a woman Carruth had been dating, was shot four times in a drive-by shooting. Surviving the shooting for a time, Adams called 9-1-1 and described Carruth's behavior: he had stopped his vehicle in front of hers as another vehicle drove alongside Adams and its passenger shot her. Carruth then drove from the scene.[3]
Adams was eight months pregnant with Carruth's child. Soon after her admission to the hospital, Adams fell into a coma.[3] Doctors saved the child, Chancellor Lee Adams, in an emergency Caesarean section, but Cherica Adams died a week later on December 14. Born prematurely and in distress, Chancellor has cerebral palsy.
Carruth went to the police and posted a $3 million bail, with the condition that if either Cherica or Chancellor died, he would turn himself in.[3] However, after Adams died, Carruth became a fugitive. The Panthers released him a few days later, citing a morals clause in his contract. He was eventually captured after being found hiding in the trunk of a car outside a motel in Parkers Crossroads, Tennessee. Also, in the trunk was $3,900 in cash, bottles to hold Carruth's urine, extra clothes, candy bars, and a cell phone.
At trial Rae Carruth was defended by both David Rudolf and Chris Fialko.[4] He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child. He was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison. However, Carruth was found not guilty of first-degree murder and was spared the death penalty. Carruth is now serving a sentence of at least 19 years and 11 months at Nash Correctional Institution near Raleigh, North Carolina. According to the North Carolina Department of Corrections, he has a projected release date of October 22, 2018.[5]