Ashley Ruffin may have a lot more explaining to do to prosecutors after her latest arrest, this time on a first-degree felony charge.
A little over a year ago the 32-year-old Palm Coast resident and mother of four drew headlines and elicited public sympathy after she was arrested on a felony child abuse charge. Authorities accused her of holding an underage boy in a lock to allow her son and another boy to beat him up.
She claimed she’d come to her son’s defense and should be commended for not having herself pursued charges against the other other boy, who had attacked her son at school the previous week. (Contrary to a video showing her son getting pummeled by the other boy, the school determined that the fight was ‘mutual,” and suspended both boys. See: “State Attorney Drops Felony Charge Against Mom in Indian Trails Incident.”)
She posted a 15-minute video, pleading her case between bouts of tears, self-pity and outrage. She spoke as a mother acting on her instincts to protect her child. The incident had happened in September 2021 at the Indian Trails Sports Complex. Weeks later, the State Attorney’s office dropped the felony charge, reducing it to simple battery, and last February decided not to pursue that charge, either.
On Monday, Ruffin was arrested at her government-subsidized Housing Authority home at 510 South Bacher Street, where she had moved in June after being evicted from her R-Section home in palm Coast, where she and her family had lived for eight years. She was arrested on a charge of selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a child care center, resulting in the first degree felony charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
The arrest was the result of a Flagler County Sheriff’s investigation and undercover buy that took place in late August. A confidential source working with detectives had arranged to meet Ruffin and buy cocaine from her. The transaction took place. Her arrest report does not disclose the specific location, but it was 300 feet from the child care center at 104 East Draine Street, within blocks of Ruffin’s home.
Ruffin’s was among the 35 arrest warrants that made up the Sheriff’s Office’s latest round-up of drug traffickers when the sheriff announced that 11-month operation earlier this month. But she was not among those arrested that day.
She remains at the Flagler County jail on $5,000 bond. She would need $500 to bond out, a steep amount, judging from her recent circumstances. Her eviction was the result of accumulated debts owed her landlord over the years, totaling $18,000 by last May. Debts before Covid had accumulated to $6,000. “If evicted I have nowhere to go as I am on disability with 4 kids to provide for,” Ruffin wrote the court, disputing the sums owed. Her children are 12, 9, 4 and 1.
Ruffin is unlikely to face anywhere near the steep penalty that the cocaine charge entails. Such charges, especially involving a first-time offender, are generally reduced to time served or modest jail time, and her attorney will push for adjudication to be withheld. Otherwise, Ruffin faces the prospect of yet another eviction: while the Housing Authority may not use the mere record of an arrest against her, a conviction is a different story. Most drug offenses disqualify an individual from eligibility for subsidized housing.
These are sad times says
Those poor kids…… just use a damn condom and then live your own life as irresponsible as you’d like. Why have a bunch of kids that you cant afford or that you’re going to expose to no dad in the house and mom getting arrested. Just remain abstinent and party away smh
Bobbi says
What she needs to do, is stop being able to have kids!
Disgusted says
Please tell us that those 4 children are in a better home than with this poor excuse of a person let alone a mother.
Chris says
Just what palm coast needs , more subsidized housing.
Simon says
Please take the kids from her permanently! If they are going to have any chance in life they need to be away from their mother.
ASF says
Karma ultimately has the final say.
I hope her children will find suitable guardianship.
The ORIGINAL land of no turn signals says
How disabled can she be with 4 kids.Living on government money but as usual has money for drugs a story that I’ve herd many times before.Bail was set high at $500? should be more.
The Unvarnished Truth says
Of all the “defund this and defund that” initiatives people rail about, the ONLY one that will have an immediate and lasting impact is “defunding welfare” for able-bodied people that can have children but do not have the resources nor the desire to care for them themselves…
Toni says
Everybody goes through things. Before you start talking about someone look in the mirror at yourself first. That poor lady lost everything because of the incident with her son. & all her children have the same dad & he’s very active in the kids lives. If you don’t know someone keep your mouth closed because apparently you don’t know exactly what goes on behind closed doors. No one was there with her when she was crying at night worried about people would think of her & call her a bad parent(exactly what you idiots done). Flaglerlive is a joke & just post ANYTHING about someone without even knowing the facts.
Lynn says
Let me get this straight. She’s was so distraught about what other would think about her, but yet she not only thought it was ok to sell coke, but close by a child care area? It sounds as if you should stop making excuses for her and hold her accountable for her actions. Encourage her to get the help she needs instead of enabling her bad behaviors.
Jack Howell says
Before we condemn her to the fires of Hell, do you think she may be placed into an appropriate rehabilitation program and her life salvaged and saved? I believe in the value of life. So, let’s not be quick to judge and toss her life away. We don’t know all of her personal history. All I see is a cry for help! Believe it or not, some individuals have successfully completed rehabilitation programs and are living productive lives. However, it must be recognized that each day is challenging for them as they have to handle their demons.
Wow says
Such hateful people here. “There but for the grace of God,…..”
ASF says
How much you wanna bet that some of the same people, who are so loudly advocating for “understanding” for this woman who has repeatedly exploited and endangered others with her criminal conduct, would be doing and saying the exact opposite about a anyone else NOIT of their own acquaintance who was doing the same–especially if those others were of a different race and/or sex?
Whathehck? says
Thank you for reasoning using your head as well as your heart. The questions is do we have the resources in place to stop the downward spiral?
Is there an opening for her in a reputable rehab center? Is there suitable placement for all kids to stay together or is the father well enough to take good care of them?
I hope there will be a follow up story on these children.