Update: Leon Ruffin is back in custody. He was apprehended after short time of freedom. Authorities located Ruffin at a hotel in New Orleans East.
A manhunt continues for a murder suspect who escaped custody by pepper spraying a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputy. Sheriff Joe Lopinto says a deputy was driving 51-year-old Leon Ruffin from the hospital back to the jail, when he complained from the back seat about a boot on one of his feet. Lopinto says the deputy stopped and attempted to help Ruffin.
“Unbeknownst to her he had some type of pepper spray that was there, he already removed the boot from his leg and ended up spraying her with the pepper spray as she opened up the door,” said Lopinto.
Lopinto says after Ruffin sprayed the deputy with the pepper spray, he got behind the wheel of the SUV and took off. The vehicle has been recovered but Ruffin remains on the run.
Ruffin is from Algiers. He was charged in November for second-degree murder of a longtime friend. Lopinto believes Ruffin faked a seizure in order to be taken to the hospital and it was his plan the whole time to break free.
“We’re going to do everything to get him back in custody, tell him to enjoy his time out for a little bit, because he won’t enjoy for the rest of his life that he’s going to be in jail for his original charge,” said Lopinto.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office has received criticism for using only deputy to transport Ruffin from the hospital to the jail. But Lopinto says single-deputy cars are used almost every single day and if the critics want to help, they can become a deputy.
“We’re taking applications at the JPSO, you can come join us, instead of criticizing the people on Facebook, jpso.com/jobs we’ll take that application, we have openings for correctional officers and you can be part of a two-man team if you really think that’s the way it goes in real life,” said Lopinto.
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