An NYPD lieutenant pleaded guilty to swiping a crystal from the Midtown yoga boutique where he worked as a security guard, officials said Thursday.
John Ruis, 61, pleaded guilty to petit larceny for palming the crystal from Alo Yoga on Jan. 28. The plea agreement requires Ruis to stay out of trouble for six months, complete two days of community service, and agree to a permanent separation from the NYPD, from which he was already dismissed on June 26.
If he abides by the terms of the agreement, Ruis will be eligible to replead to disorderly conduct and time served at his sentencing on Feb. 27.
Ruis, a 30-year NYPD veteran, was off-duty and working a department-approved security detail at the Fifth Ave. yoga store near W. 48th St. when he swiped the crystal about 11:36 a.m. on Jan. 28, according to Manhattan prosecutors.
Surveillance footage shows Ruis snatching the $275 bauble, which was attached to a $3,500 Alo Odyssey duffel bag, and wrapping it in a tissue before stuffing it into his pocket, according to a criminal complaint and law enforcement sources.
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau was informed, and Ruis was arrested two days following the theft.
Ruis joined the NYPD in 1995 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2006. He had served in the 115th Precinct in Queens before he was transferred to the department’s Crime Prevention Division in 2024. Before his arrest, he was an older adult liaison for the division, working in the Bronx.
In 2018, Ruis was brought up on department charges for not informing his superiors about changes to an order of protection filed against him by his estranged wife at the time. He was also accused of not securing a third firearm, which he had allegedly left at his wife’s home.
He admitted his failures and NYPD Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Trials Jeff Adler found him guilty and recommended the lieutenant give up 30 vacation days as punishment.
The recommendation was disapproved in 2021 by then-Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, according to court papers.
During his departmental trial, it was mentioned that Lt. Ruis, over the first 25 years of his career, received 12 medals for excellent police duty, seven for meritorious police duty, and one for meritorious police duty – integrity.
Over his two and a half decades with the department, he had only called in sick once, the trials commissioner noted.