JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man considered the prime suspect in the disappearance of 21-month-old Lonzie Barton appeared before a judge Friday on new charges after police said he was planning to escape from jail.
William Ruben Ebron Jr., who was already facing two counts of child neglect and one count of lying to police, has been charged with attempted escape from jail, possession of a handcuff key, possession of contraband and criminal conspiracy.
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He was ordered held without bond.
According to a report from police, Ebron told another inmate that he had a handcuff key and was planning to escape while being transported between the courthouse and the jail.
Officials said that the other inmate went to police with Ebron's plan and they arranged to record conversations between the two. They said in that conversation Ebron didn't deny planning to escape and even showed the other inmate the handcuff key.
"Even if he had gotten the handcuffs off, it would have been close to impossible for him to escape," News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said.
The inmate told police that Ebron showed him a shaped orange piece of plastic and told him it was a handcuff key. That inmate told investigators Ebron was hiding it in the gum area of his upper lip and in his sock.
According to what that inmate told police, Ebron said he had tried the key during a time he was handcuffed for court, and his plan was to escape at some point while being transferred between court and jail.
That inmate told police Ebron said his intended getaway driver was recently arrested, so he had to find another one.
During the recorded conversation, Ebron and the inmate discussed escaping together, according to police, and at one point, Ebron gave a makeshift key to that inmate.
Later, another conversation between the two men was recorded, and Ebron talked in more detail about the key and having tried it during his Tuesday trip to court in Baker County. He said it didn't work.
"If the key actually worked on the handcuffs, he could have gotten the handcuffs off. Now an actual escape from the van would have been much more difficult, because you can't open the jail van from inside. It has to be opened from the outside," Smith said. "And once the van arrives at the jail in Baker County or Duval County, it goes into the sallyport. And then the garage doors are closed and locked before they even open the jail van."
Police said Ebron was caught with two makeshift handcuff keys, one of which was an orange piece of plastic shaped like a handcuff key that he gave to that inmate, and told the man he could escape with him.
The plan, according to police, was to jump out the back of a jail transportation van and take off on foot to a waiting getaway vehicle.
"He may be done with his transports out of county," Smith said. "But what they may do is have an armed guard there when he is transported. And what they will probably do is transport him at a date and time that he is not aware of."
Ebron was originally arrested on child neglect charges and later a charge of giving false information to police while they investigated Lonzie's disappearance was added.
Ebron, the boyfriend of Lonzie's mother, is believed to be the last person who saw the toddler alive and allegedly lied to police since the beginning of the investigation.
"He started off by falsely reporting that someone stole the child," Assistant State Attorney Richard Mantei said, adding that Ebron told more lies. "Almost too much to list, honestly. We would be here quite a while if I started to list them."
Ebron pleaded not guilty to those three charges. The four new charges were added Thursday.
Ebron will have a hearing at 8:30 a.m. Monday when he will have to show that any money put up for bond doesn't come from criminal enterprise.
But even if Ebron were to post bond in Duval County, he would not be able to walk away. There is an outstanding warrant for his arrest from Baker County on a drug case.
"It would just be a change of location," Mantei said.