A 30-year NYPD veteran who spent his final years steering senior citizens away from scams has pleaded guilty to shoplifting from the very Fifth Avenue store he was paid to protect. John Ruis, a 61-year-old lieutenant assigned to the department's Crime Prevention Division, admitted to petit larceny after taking a $275 crystal charm off a $3,500 duffel bag at the Alo Yoga boutique near West 48th Street in Midtown, where he was working an off-duty, department-approved security detail.
According to the New York Daily News, Manhattan prosecutors say Ruis snatched the crystal at about 11:36 a.m. on January 28, wrapped it in a tissue and stuffed it into his pocket while he was on the clock protecting the store. He was arrested two days later, on January 30, and the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau was informed about the theft. Police sources cited by Ground News reported that Ruis was initially charged with petit larceny, official misconduct and criminal possession of stolen property.
A Lucrative Bag Line With a Pricey Accessory
The bag Ruis targeted wasn't just any duffel. Alo Yoga launched its luxury handbag collection in September 2025, rolling out Italian leather travel and duffle bags priced between $1,200 and $3,600, each featuring a detachable South American healing crystal charm valued at roughly $270 to $275, according to reporting cited in the dossier from Forbes. That charm's value is precisely what kept the case a misdemeanor rather than a felony.
Under New York Penal Law § 155.25, petit larceny is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and fines of up to $1,000, per the Tilem & Associates law firm. Grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class E felony carrying up to four years in prison, only applies once stolen property exceeds $1,000 in value, according to the Law Firm of Andrew M. Stengel — meaning the $275 crystal fell well short of that threshold.
Plea Deal Offers a Path to a Lesser Charge
Ruis pleaded guilty to petit larceny and, under his plea agreement, will be eligible to replead to disorderly conduct if he completes two days of community service and stays out of trouble for six months. He's also eligible for time served at sentencing, which is scheduled for February 27, 2027, if he follows through on the deal's terms. The arrangement was worked out before Ruis, who worked the security detail through the NYPD's Paid Detail Program, entered his plea in Manhattan court.
Created in 1998, the Paid Detail Program allows active-duty officers, sergeants, lieutenants and detectives to take on off-duty uniformed security work for department-approved businesses, with vendors paying the officers directly, according to court records from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ruis had been transferred to the Crime Prevention Division in 2024, where he served as an older adult liaison — a role focused on helping seniors avoid fraud — before his arrest, according to the Daily News. He had previously served in the 115th Precinct in Queens and worked in the Bronx before his arrest.
A Decorated Career Ends in Dismissal
Ruis joined the NYPD in 1995 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2006. Over his first 25 years, he collected 12 medals for excellent police duty, seven medals for meritorious police duty and one medal for meritorious police duty for integrity, according to the Daily News. He reportedly called in sick just once during his first two and a half decades on the job.
That record wasn't spotless, however. In 2018, Ruis faced departmental charges for failing to inform superiors about changes to an order of protection and was accused of failing to secure a third firearm allegedly left at his wife's home. Deputy Commissioner of Trials Jeff Adler found Ruis guilty in that departmental case and recommended he forfeit 30 vacation days, but then-Police Commissioner Dermot Shea disapproved that recommendation in 2021, according to the New York Daily News. Ruis admitted his departmental failures at the time.
Following his January arrest and suspension, Ruis was formally dismissed from the NYPD on June 26, ending his 30-year career before he entered his plea agreement. As part of that agreement, Ruis agreed to permanent separation from the department — a condition that underscores how seriously the NYPD treats off-duty criminal conduct, even when the underlying theft amounts to a few hundred dollars.
Not the First Off-Duty Shoplifting Case
Ruis's arrest isn't an isolated embarrassment for the department. The New York Post has noted a comparable 2019 case in which an active-duty NYPD sergeant was arrested for petit larceny after allegedly taking more than $350 in merchandise from a Macy's store in Westchester County. Off-duty arrests like these trigger immediate internal reviews by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau.
The theft also lands amid a broader, if declining, retail crime picture in the city. NYPD CompStat data through early August showed citywide retail theft complaints down 14.7% year-to-date to 27,778, compared to 32,546 during the same period in 2025, as Hoodline has previously reported. Even with that citywide drop, shoplifting remains a persistent concern for Midtown business corridors, where the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the NYPD have trained over 200 business representatives on issuing formal trespass notices — a tactic designed to elevate repeat shoplifting incidents to felony burglary charges, according to earlier Hoodline coverage.
