Gretna prison escapee convicted of Avondale murder

A Jefferson Parish jail inmate accused of faking a seizure and pepper-spraying a deputy during a custody escape was convicted of murder Wednesday night, ending a trial that authorities say he desperately tried to avoid.

Jefferson Parish jurors deliberated for just over an hour before convicting Leon Ruffin, 51, of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his longtime friend, Gannon Johnson, 53, according to court documents.

Ruffin was also convicted of obstruction of justice, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated criminal damage to property.

Ruffin, however, was not in court for his trial. Judge Stephen Enright Jr. of the 24th District Court barred him from the Gretna courtroom after a series of disturbances, including another alleged false seizure, according to court records and Capt. Jason Rivarde, a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Avondale shooting

During the three-day trial, Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorneys Piper Didier and Thomas Block accused Ruffin of killing Johnson outside his friend’s home on Federal Drive in Avondale before shooting a witness on the night of July 9, 2023.

Ruffin, in a car he had rented through the online app Turo, was at Johnson’s home and asked for help starting the vehicle, according to sheriff’s office investigators. A nearby surveillance camera recorded Ruffin shooting Johnson after Johnson started the car and removed the jumper cables, authorities said.

Ruffin returned to the crime scene later that night, accompanied by his wife, Shelita Ruffin, to play the role of a grieving friend, sheriff’s office investigators said.

Investigators identified Ruffin as a suspect based on a fingerprint left on the hood of Johnson’s car just before the shooting, authorities said. They were also able to track him down through the rental vehicle. Ruffin later confessed to the killing, authorities said.

Brazen Escape

While awaiting trial, Ruffin was held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Facility in Gretna, where Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said he began faking injuries and illnesses that kept him in the medical wing. Ruffin used a wheelchair and wore an ankle boot that prevented him from being handcuffed to the leg.

On Feb. 25, Ruffin suffered a seizure that authorities said was a ruse to get him out of jail and sent to a hospital. He was taken to Ochsner Medical Center in West Bank, in unincorporated Gretna, for treatment.

After he was released from the hospital, he began yelling from the back seat of the patrol car that was taking him back to the jail, the sheriff’s office said. The deputy pulled into the parking lot and opened his door to check on him.

Ruffin, who had already removed her boots, pepper-sprayed the deputy and charged at her, the sheriff’s office said. The deputy fired three shots that missed, and Ruffin fled in her patrol vehicle.

According to court documents, Ruffin armed himself with pepper spray inside the jail after a corrections officer misplaced it. Rivarde said Thursday that the sheriff’s office investigated the matter and took appropriate disciplinary action.

Ruffin was recaptured two days later at the Trident Hotel in New Orleans’ east side. His wife was also arrested and later charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated escape and conspiracy to smuggle contraband into the correctional facility.

In jail calls recorded about a week before the escape, Ruffin can be heard telling his wife that he anticipated a “medical emergency that would result in him being taken to the hospital,” according to court documents.

Ruffin later told investigators he escaped because he was accused of murder, according to court documents.

Ruffin is scheduled to be sentenced on October 24.

He was being held without bail at the Gretna Jail and is still awaiting trial on charges of aggravated escape, battery on a police officer and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.