JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A judge revoked bond Monday morning for the man police consider their prime suspect in the disappearance of 21-month-old Lonzie Barton.
The move comes four days after William Ruben Ebron Jr. was charged with attempted escape from jail, possession of a handcuff key, possession of contraband and criminal conspiracy.
Ebron, 32, has been held on a $100,000 bond since July 24, the day he reported the toddler missing, on two counts of child neglect and one count of lying to police.
Because his bond was revoked, the judge also denied a motion from the State Attorney for a hearing that would have ensured any money Ebron put up for bond was from legitimate sources, because he is an admitted drug dealer.
Attorney Rhonda Peoples-Waters, who is not connected with the case, said Judge Marianne Aho likely revoked the bond to ensure Ebron appears in court, but also to protect the public.
Assistant State Attorney Rich Mantei said Ebron was previously ordered not to have contact with his ex-girlfriend, who has an injunction against him, but that Ebron allegedly tried to contact her 31 times. Authorities said they have numerous audio recordings of his contacts with the woman.
"Certainly their thought is that Ebron is maybe putting some type of threats or telling people that have information about this case to not get involved," Peoples-Waters said.
Mantei also wants Ebron to have phone or email contact only with his attorney since he allegedly violated a previous no-contact order.
"We remember early on, the prosecutors and police were inviting others to go and talk to Ebron and hoping this would leak some information that they needed," Peoples-Waters said. "So now they've gone to the extreme of making sure that he's only having contact with his attorney, and he won't be able to put the pressure on any other people outside."
She said Ebron's trial may begin sooner than many people expect.
A special hearing is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday to decide the future of Ebron's communication privileges.