When you work as a deputy for the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, you’re supposed to enforce the laws not break them – however, according to court records and Vice and Narcotics officer – Lenaira Montea Ruffin – was arrested and charged with Driving While Impaired by the Burlington Police Department.
The results of the administered breath test came in at 0.24, which is three times the 0.08 limit in the state of North Carolina.
Ruffin was released from the custody of Alamance County on a $2500 cash bond paid by the defendant.
The arrest occurred on Friday, Jan. 16.
A source familiar with Ruffin said she had only been with the department for a little over a year but that she had risen through the ranks there quickly and was working in Vice and Narcotics in what one former law enforcement official described as “record time.”
Ruffin, a 30-year-old Burlington resident, studied at Elon University, where she played on the basketball team and was an honor student years before taking a job with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.
She now has a March 17 court date in Alamance County District Court.
There have been DWIs for Guilford County Sheriff’s Office deputies and non-sworn staff before and there is no automatic dismissal for the act.
A September 23, 2024, memo from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office outlined a new internal disciplinary standard for Sheriff’s Office employees charged with driving while impaired.
Under that policy, a first DWI offense that results in a sustained internal investigation will bring a divisional-level reprimand, two years of probation, ten consecutive days off without pay and a requirement to attend and complete an alcohol treatment program such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
According to that policy, employees assigned a county vehicle will be reassigned to a position without a vehicle while their criminal case is pending.
That memo further states that any employee with a prior DWI conviction of any kind who’s charged again and faces a sustained investigation will be terminated.
Sheriff Danny Rogers noted in the memo to staff that DWI is a “very serious offense” and he stated that two DWIs will not be tolerated moving forward.
