NADIRAH RUFFIN - 19 yo - Atlantic City - NJ

LOCAL MOTHER PLEADING FOR TEEN'S SAFE RETURN AFTER KIDNAPPING
ATLANTIC
CITY -- A mother in Atlantic City is pleading for
answers and help from the public after her 19-year-old daughter was
kidnapped at gunpoint Saturday night by four masked assailants.

"We just need her home. Home! Just bring her home, that's all we want," said Fonda Ruffin.

Ruffin's daughter, 19-year-old Nadirah Ruffin, was visiting with four girl
friends Saturday night when four, masked, gun-toting assailants were
allowed into an apartment on Atlantic City's North Maryland Avenue.

The four suspects gained entry after knocking on the door.

"They peaked through the peephole, and couldn't see. So they were like, who
is it? They're like, "she's waiting for me." They didn't say who in
particular was waiting for them. So they just open the door. They
though it was somebody that just left out of the house. But, when they
come in, they bum rushed, tied everybody up," Ruffin said.

After ransacking the apartment, the assailants took Nadirah. Witnesses tell
Fonda that her daughter pleaded with her kidnappers to let her go, for
the sake of her young child.

"All she kept saying, I got a son, please don't do this to me, I got a son, I got a son. That's all she
was worrying about was her son." Ruffin said.

Atlantic City Police held a press conference Monday evening updating the situation,
and they're enlisting the help of multiple agencies as the search
continues.

"We have all of our resources devoted to an effort to
locate her now, and we've called on our law enforcement partners from
each level to assist us in trying to locate this young lady," said
Atlantic City Police Department Deputy Chief Ernerst Jubilee.

Sheriff's deputies from Cape May and Atlantic Counties met with A.C. Police
Department officers at the site of the kidnapping Monday evening, using
K9 officers to scour the scene for clues.

"We have several people I will call, "of interest," But no specific suspects at this time.
This effort will continue at this level, until we find her."

As the investigation continues, police are not releasing specifics about
the crime, including a motive and whether or not a robbery occurred
before Nadirah's abduction. Ruffin is described as a black female
standing around 5'4'', now with braids in her hair and several tattoos
including one on her neck reading "so sweet."

Anyone with information can contact police at 609-347-5766 or you can call anonymously to crime stoppers at 1-800-658-TIPS.

Update.
ATLANTIC CITY---A 20 thousand dollar
reward is now being offered for the safe return of a 19 year-old young
mother who was taken during a home invasion Saturday night on North Maryland Avenue in Atlantic City.

Wednesday afternoon the Atlantic City police department joined the FBI to announce the reward
for anyone who provides information that leads to the safe return of 19
year-old Nadirah Ruffin and the prosecution of everyone involved in her
kidnapping.
The 5 foot 4 mother who weighs about 120 pounds hasn't
been seen since Saturday's home invasion and family and friends are
doing their best to hold onto hope.

Nadirah's father DiAllo Lomcrier said, "We are hoping for the best and I'm prepared for the
worst I hope my daughter comes back to me in one piece."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Atlantic City Police Department or
you can visit their website at www.crimestoppersatlantic.com.

http://www.nbc40.net/news/17010/

It is implausible a gang like this would invade an occupied home unless they had good reason to believe something of significant value was in the home. From all I read about this case, Nadirah Ruffin was the only valuable taken. Know what an "enslaver" is ? I'd bet my next retirement check this beautiful young lady was sold into slavery.

There is a big old cult [active worldwide] founded by a serial enslaver. Criminals emerge from all cultures. But not many cults were founded by a serial enslaver. I'd state the name of the cult to which I refer, ... but you already know it. Don't you ?

Thank you JP for your input, and welcome to J4C!
Forced servitude still exists and many runaways and others are abducted find themselves in this trap.
If I may so bold as to ask (as I really don't know), who is this serial enslaver and the cult you refer to?

Hundreds gather to pray, plead for safe return of woman abducted in Atlantic City


ATLANTIC CITY - First they prayed. Then they marched. Then they rallied.
A few hundred people packed the Boys and Girls Club on Sunday afternoon to pray for the safe return of Nadirah Ruffin, the 19-year-old mother who was taken at gunpoint from a Back Maryland home March 26. Spiritual leaders and elected officials including Mayor Lorenzo Langford and state Sen. Jim Whelan spoke of their support for the family, and the need for the community to come together.
"We are one family here and now," said Rabbi Aaron Kraus, of Beth El Synagogue in Margate. "The family of Nadirah Ruffin, sharing the anguish of those who know her and love her."
But prayer was not enough, said the Rev. James Ward, who traveled 3,000 miles to answer what he said was God's call to help. The leader of the Inner City Youth of San Diego had his own call for those gathered Sunday.
"If you know what's going on, pick up the phone," he said, his voice rising. "Our baby's missing. We need to do something. Let's go to the neighborhood and petition to bring our baby back home."
After the vigil, as the immediate family stayed behind to take any tips people were willing to give, Ward led a march to the apartment complex where the teen was abducted.
In small groups, people gathered in the parking area in front of the home on the 800 block of North Maryland Avenue.

read more>
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic_city/hundreds-gather-to-pray-plead-for-safe-return-of-woman/article_bda5347a-5e35-11e0-b97f-001cc4c002e0.html

Atlantic City police probe possible connection between body found in Schuylkill and abducted woman

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Atlantic City police probe possible connection between body found in Schuylkill and abducted woman

Atlantic City investigators were in Philadelphia on Wednesday
night awaiting confirmation of what they already believed: the
woman found dead in the Schuylkill River on Tuesday morning is the
teen mother abducted from a Back Maryland home last month.

"The autopsy is going to take some time," Atlantic County
Prosecutor Ted Housel said at about 4 p.m. Wednesday. "We're hoping
to hear by 10 tonight."


Ruffin, 19, was forced out of her cousin's apartment at gunpoint
March 26, after four people in masks forced their way inside the
home on the 800 block of North Maryland Avenue. The other four
women inside were duct taped and robbed.Duct tape was also found on the body of the woman discovered by
a Fairmount Park bicyclist Tuesday morning. There was tape around
her head and part of her upper torso, and a handcuff around one
ankle, the investigation has revealed. She apparently had a gunshot
wound to her head.Housel would not comment when asked if the victim had been
shot.Investigators from the prosecutor's Major Crimes Unit were also
in Philadelphia on Wednesday, ready to take the lead in the case as
is common practice when a death is deemed a homicide in Atlantic
County."Obviously no one wanted this as the ending, but the grim
reality is that Nadirah is not coming home," family attorney James
Leonard Jr. said.Even a day after the news came that her body may have been
found, Ruffin's friends, family and even strangers held out hope.
Two Facebook pages dedicated to her were filled with prayers that
the woman found dead in Philadelphia was not her."I'm really hoping it really isn't her," Courtney Rice wrote on
the wall of the Nadirah Ruffin Support Group. "I'm still praying
that she is alive and breathing and come home safe and sound.""Still prayin' for her safe return," Elvira Marie
ArmendaiirzColiin wrote on the Help Bring Nadirah Ruffin Back Home
page."Hopin' and praying," Jazmin Renay wrote on the same page.The community had come together to help find Ruffin, holding
prayer vigils and going around the neighborhoods trying to get
information.Ruffin's family was aiding police by taking any information
people told them back to detectives.The young mother of a 4-year-old son had been trying to make a
good life for her and little Jhalil, who she called "Dink." She was
working and going to Atlantic Cape Community College in Atlantic
City.After some trouble with the law last year, she vowed to her
mother, Fonda Ruffin, that she would never put herself in that
position again. She was arrested after two friends she was with
allegedly burglarized a vehicle.Ruffin insisted she thought she was driving them to a party. Her
mother used it as a lesson for the teen to make better decisions
now that she too was a mother.Now, it appears Jhalil - who family has shielded from the fact
that his mother is missing - will have to learn that his mother is
not coming home.The FBI has offered as much as $20,000 for information leading
an arrest and conviction in the case.Anyone with information is urged to call the Atlantic County
Detective Bureau at 609-347-5766. Information can also be called in
anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 652-1234.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/atlantic-city-police-probe-possible-connection-between-body-found-in/article_2d14d938-6aab-11e0-bad8-001cc4c03286.html

ATLANTIC CITY - April 21, 2011 (WPVI) --
The Atlantic County prosecutor held a news conference on Thursday to ask
for the public's help as the investigation into the abduction and
killing of 19-year-old Nadirah Ruffin continues. Related Photos

Police investigate body found in riverView all 9 photos
Ruffin, the mother of a 4-year-old son, was abducted at gunpoint by
masked men from an Atlantic City home on the night of Saturday, March
26th. Her body was discovered floating in the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park earlier this week. At the news conference, Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel asked
anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in Fairmount Park in the
early morning hours of Sunday, March 27th, to come forward.
While the medical examiner has not determined the date of Ruffin's
death, Housel's request indicates that investigators believe Ruffin
could have been killed in the hours after she was abducted. "If
someone from the public might have observed something unusual, with
respect to somebody being in that area, or something consistent with
someone moving or depositing something in that area," Housel said. Housel went on to say that a light-colored automobile with New Jersey
tags may have been involved. The car would be about the size of a Ford
Focus. Ruffin's body was badly decomposed, Housel said, and the date of Ruffin's death may never be known.
Also in the news conference, Housel said he couldn't confirmed if
Ruffin was specifically targeted before her abduction, but "obviously
she was abducted for some reason." Anyone with information can call the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor's Office Web site at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page. Medical examiners determined that Ruffin died of a gunshot wound, and the case has been classified a homicide. Philadelphia police said Ruffin's body was spotted by a bicyclist in
Fairmount Park on Tuesday. Police said she had duct tape around her head
and body and a handcuff attached to her left ankle. The FBI has offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information in the case. Housel says his office is taking over the investigation, with help from the FBI and Atlantic City and Philadelphia police.http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=8086889

Bump

NBC Philadelphia
October 18, 2011

Six people are now under arrest in the kidnapping and murder of 20-year old Nadirah Ruffin.


Six people are now under arrest in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a 20-year old Egg Harbor Township mother.

Authorities say a team of more than 50 law enforcement officers made the arrests early Tuesday morning

Nadirah Ruffin was taken at
gunpoint from her cousin’s home on the 800 block of N. Maryland Avenue
in Atlantic City during a violent home invasion on March 26.

She remained missing until
her body was found in the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park in
Philadelphia nearly a month later. Ruffin was shot to death. Her body
was found duct-taped and handcuffed.
Three of the six arrested
face federal kidnapping and weapons charges, while three others are
accused of witness tampering or making false statements.
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Six-Arrested-in-Nadirah-Ruffin-Kidnapping-and-Murder-132082453.html

October 23, 2011

Two brothers accused of tampering with a potential witness in the fatal kidnapping of a young Atlantic City woman will remain in jail until their trial starts.

Federal prosecutors contended 40-year-old Henry Ruffin of Williamstown and his 42-year-old
brother, Ronnie, of Lindenwold, threatened their 20-year-old nephew
because they feared he was talking with authorities.

Defense lawyers, though, claimed the brothers were only trying to “straighten out” their nephew,
who also faces charges in the case.

Citing both defendants extensive criminal records, U.S. District Judge Joel Schneider denied them bail on Friday.

The brothers are among six people charged in the death of 20-year-old Nadirah Ruffin, who was taken
at gunpoint by robbers in March. Her body was found in the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia nearly a month later.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/No-Bail-for-2-Suspects-Charged-in-Nadirah-Ruffin-Kidnapping-and-Murder-132412848.html

21 October, 2011



As with the slayings of so many young African
Americans, the murder of 20-year-old Nadirah Ruffin calls to mind the
same descriptive adjectives used to describe so many killings in the
Black community.

Senseless. Needless. Tragic.

Ruffin, who was also a single mother, was kidnapped last March 26th
in Atlantic City by a group of masked home invaders. The home invaders,
who were all young African Americans, weren’t content to pistol-whip
their victims and steal money and drugs. Because Nadirah recognized the
voice of one of the robbers, she was dragged from the residence,
pleading for her life. Worried that she would “snitch” to the cops, her
captors drove her to Philadelphia, shot her in the head and then threw
her lifeless body into the Schuylkill River. Her remains were found
April 19.

On Tuesday of this week a team of more than 50 federal, state and
local law enforcement officers carried out arrest warrants for six
suspects, one of them a woman, wanted in connection with Ruffin’s
murder.

Charged in the case are Shamerria Smith, 24, Aziz Sanders, 18 and
Deshawn Hicks, 19, all of Atlantic City. The three have been charged
with kidnapping resulting in the victim’s death, robbery and weapons
offenses.

Also arrested and charged in the case are Ronnie Ruffin, 42, of
Lindenwold, New Jersey, Henry Ruffin, 40, of Williamstown, New Jersey
and Isiah Ruffin, 20, of Atlantic City. The Ruffin co-defendants are not
related to the victim, however, according to police, Ronnie Ruffin is
the father of Shamerria Smith. Smith, Sanders and Isiah Ruffin are all
first cousins and their parents are siblings.

Brothers Henry and Ronnie Ruffin are accused of witness tampering.
Isiah Ruffin has been charged with providing false information to
federal agents.

“Well, the entire family is pleased that the police have caught the
suspects. This has been a very difficult time for me and my family as
you can imagine,” said Derek Longcrier, grandfather of Nadirah Ruffin.
The depth of Longcrier’s grief and emotional burden were evident in his
voice as he spoke with the Tribune.

“As I understand it, this is still an ongoing investigation.
Basically we’re content to let justice take its course. Nadirah was my
son’s daughter, and this has been very, very hard on all of us,”
Longcrier said. “We’re happy that arrests have been made and are
grateful for the efforts of law enforcement.”

The arrests were part of an aggressive investigation by the Atlantic
City office of the FBI, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and the
Atlantic City Police Department. In addition, personnel of FBI SWAT, New
Jersey State Police, FBI Evidence Response Team; Atlantic City Police
Department SWAT Team and detectives; the Philadelphia office of the FBI,
and the N.J. State Police participated in the operation.

“The kidnapping and murder allegations in the complaint detail an
indifference to human life that is shocking,” said U.S. Attorney Paul J.
Fishman in a press release. “The complaint describes how associates of
those responsible attempted to use threats, violence and lies to prevent
us from finding and arresting the suspects. We are grateful for the
tireless and cooperative investigative work of the Atlantic City Police
Department, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI, which
ultimately led to the arrests of all of those involved.”

The tragedy began with a physical altercation on Wednesday, March 23
between a female referred to in the investigative reports as T.W. and
Isiah Ruffin, who were involved in a relationship. The fight between the
couple took place in the North Maryland Avenue area of Atlantic City
known as “Back Maryland.” The couple was arguing over Ruffin’s alleged
involvement with another woman. T.W. believed the “other woman” was
Nadirah Ruffin. T.W.’s response was to find Nadirah, confront her and
slap her.

This set off a series of confrontations between two groups of young
people who all know each other. The end result was a physical
confrontation between Isiah Ruffin and an individual identified in the
investigative report as Donald Hawkins, a.k.a. “Goldie” on the afternoon
of March 23rd. Goldie allegedly beat and robbed Ruffin, putting him in
the hospital. Ruffin allegedly told law enforcement officers at the time
that he had no idea who robbed and assaulted him.

According to investigators, Shamerria Smith was angry over the
incident involving her cousin, Isiah, and Goldie and wanted to
retaliate.

“This investigation is of utmost importance to the FBI Safe Street
Task Force due to aspects of home invasion, robbery, kidnapping and the
senseless murder of a young woman and mother,” said Michael B. Ward,
Special Agent In Charge of the FBI’s Newark Division in a press release.


“Such acts of violence will not be tolerated and will be met
forcefully by the united efforts of law enforcement. The arrests of six
subjects believed to be responsible for this extreme violence are an
example of that commitment,” Ward said.

On Saturday, March 26, Atlantic City Police were called to the
residence of Monica Dunn. Police found four duct-taped women who
reported they had been pistol whipped and robbed by a group armed with
guns. The assailants were wearing masks and wore dark, hooded
sweatshirts. At least one of them was a woman, later identified as
Smith. The assailants searched the house in a manner, police said, that
indicated they were familiar with the layout of the residence. They
stole money and drugs; investigators say portions of the stolen cash
were earned from the sale of a narcotic known on the streets as “woki,”
marijuana laced with embalming fluid.

During the course of the home invasion, the victims reported to
authorities that Ruffin said, “Shamerria, why are you doing this to me?
You know me.”

The assailants then forced Nadirah from the house. She was never seen alive again.

On April 19, 2011 just after 10:30 a.m., Philadelphia police received
a call reporting the discovery of a body floating in the Schuylkill
River near Martin Luther King Drive and Black Road. The body was
recovered and subsequently identified as that of Nadirah Ruffin. The
cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head. Her body was
found wrapped in a khaki colored piece of clothing and duct taped.

“This is a very significant arrest,” said Deputy Chief Ernest
Jubilee, Commander of the Atlantic City Police Department in a press
release. “This is the most significant series of arrests made in one
case this year. It was a tragic occurrence and I’m glad that the
collaborative effort put forth by all agencies has resulted in these
arrests.”

But of course, the arrests will never bring back Nadirah Ruffin, who leaves behind a 4-year-old son.

http://www.phillytrib.com/newsarticles/item/1146-six-suspects-charged-in-fatal-home-invasion.html