Already locked up for life in the 2023 murder of Gannon Johnson, Leon Ruffin Jr. just had another 32 years tacked onto his time after a Jefferson Parish jury on Tuesday (July 14) found him guilty of pepper-spraying a sheriff's deputy and briefly escaping custody during a hospital trip.
According to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office, jurors needed only about 30 minutes of deliberation before convicting Ruffin of aggravated escape, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and battery on a police officer. The judge immediately ordered the 32-year sentence to run consecutive to the life term he is already serving. Prosecutors say the escape unfolded during a hospital transport from the West Bank and was captured on surveillance video.
How the escape unfolded
Surveillance video released by authorities shows Ruffin being wheeled out of Ochsner Medical Center - West Bank in Gretna, complaining about a medical boot before turning the situation on its head. He suddenly unloads a canister of pepper spray into the transporting deputy's face, then sprints to the front seat of the marked sheriff's unit and speeds off, the footage shows.
As reported by Fox 8 (WVUE), the deputy fired three shots in an effort to stop the fleeing vehicle, which was later found abandoned in Algiers. Federal and local officers ultimately tracked Ruffin to a New Orleans East motel and arrested him.
Sentencing and co-defendants
Judge Stephen Enright sentenced Ruffin to 32 years and ordered him returned to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola to begin serving the new term, the district attorney's office says. The Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office also noted that Ruffin's wife, Shelita Ruffin, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to introduce contraband and received a two-year sentence. Richard R. Robinson pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to five years.
Why it matters
Officials and prosecutors say the case highlights the risks that come with transporting high-risk inmates for medical care, and how easily contraband can be hidden in medical gear. Sheriff Joseph Lopinto has publicly defended the transport deputy and blasted Ruffin's actions as brazen, saying the inmate "gamed the system," as earlier reporting documented. KPLC reported that multiple law-enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, joined the search that ended with Ruffin's recapture two days after his escape.
