New judge assigned to Ruben Ebron case

Hearing next week will set date on pending defense motions

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One day after the judge hearing the case of Ruben Ebron took herself off the case, the chief judge assigned Judge Mark Borello to preside over pending hearings and upcoming trial against the man who last saw 21-month-old Lonzie Barton alive.

During a hearing Monday, Judge Marianne Lloyd Aho recused herself from the case, citing that she used to be the law partner of WJXT's attorney, Ed Birk, one of the media lawyers set to argue against a defense motion to suppress evidence from the public.

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"I think the judge did the right thing, because she is relatively new, and she has been guided, so to speak, by the prosecution," Wanda Ebron, Ruben Ebron's mother, said after Monday's hearing.

On Tuesday, the chief judge of the 4th Judicial Circuit, Mark Mahon, assigned Borrello to take over the case. The next hearing was set for 9 a.m. on Oct. 8.

Borello was elected to the bench in 2012 after 24 years as a prosecutor.

Ebron remains in jail without bond.  He is facing two child neglect charges connected to Lonzie's disappearance.  He's also charged with possession of a handcuff key, introducing contraband into the jail and conspiracy to escape.  All five charges are considered felonies. He is also charged with one count of lying to police, which is a misdemeanor.