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Nov 07, 2024

Inmate sentenced in murder trial after escaping Gretna jail | Crime/Police | nola.com

The Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on Thursday, August 1, 2019. An inmate accused of pepper-spraying a Jefferson Parish deputy and escaping custody — to avoid a murder trial,

The Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on Thursday, August 1, 2019.

An inmate accused of pepper-spraying a Jefferson Parish deputy and escaping custody — to avoid a murder trial, authorities allege — has been sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years after he was found guilty of the killing, according to court records.

Leon Ruffin, 51, was sentenced Oct. 24 for the charges related to the Avondale shooting death of longtime friend, Gannon Johnson.

But he still awaits trial on the charges stemming from his alleged escape.

Ruffin was convicted Sept. 18 of second-degree murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon, aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated criminal damage to property and obstruction of justice.

Judge Stephen Enright Jr. of the 24th Judicial District Court banned Ruffin from the courtroom during the three-day trial because of a number of disturbances, including a suspected fake seizure, according to authorities.

In the murder case, Ruffin was charged with gunning down Johnson, 53, outside of the latter's Federal Drive home in Avondale on the night of July 9, 2023. Investigators identified Ruffin as a suspect using video recorded by a home surveillance camera and fingerprints, according to authorities.

Ruffin was arrested about two weeks after the homicide and was being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto has said authorities believe Ruffin began faking injuries and illnesses shortly after his arrest in the homicide to keep himself in the medical wing.

He was wearing an arm sling, an ankle boot and using a wheelchair on Feb. 25, 2024, the day investigators allege Ruffin faked a seizure that required transportation to Ochsner Medical Center West Bank in unincorporated Gretna for treatment. He couldn't be shackled because of the boot, authorities said.

Just as the deputy prepared to drive Ruffin back to the Gretna jail, authorities said he created a disturbance on the backseat of her patrol unit. The deputy pulled over in the hospital's parking lot to check on him.

But Ruffin was armed with pepper spray that had been misplaced at the jail by another corrections officer, court records said. He sprayed the deputy, made his way behind the wheel, and drove off with her vehicle, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Ruffin was arrested two days later at a motel in New Orleans East.

In the Oct. 24, sentencing hearing, Enright handed down the mandatory punishment of life in prison for Ruffin's murder conviction, court records said.

Enright also ordered that Ruffin serve 40 years for obstruction, 20 years on the gun charge, 10 years for aggravated assault and 15 years for the property damage, court records said.

However, Enright ordered that the 40-year obstruction sentence be served after the completion of the other sentences, which are to be served at the same time, according to court records.

No trial date has been set in the escape case.

Ruffin pleaded not guilty May 3 to aggravated escape, battery of a police officer, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, conspiracy to possession contraband in a correctional center and having contraband in a correctional center.

In the contraband case, he is accused of hiding cigarettes and a lighter in his rectum after his arrest at the motel in an effort to smuggle the items into the Gretna jail.

Ruffin's wife, Shelita Ruffin, 53, was charged with conspiracy to introduce contraband. Another defendant, Richard Robinson, 33, being an accessory after the fact to simple escape, court records said.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

Email Michelle Hunter at [email protected].