JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ruben Ebron, The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's prime suspect in the disappearance of 21-month-old Lonzie Barton, was in court Thursday on a separate civil matter regarding his ex-girlfriend.
Ebron and his girlfriend, who is not being named due to pending legal matters, have three children together, their third being born this year.
Recommended Videos
The hearing Wednesday was to discuss the injunction his former girlfriend has against him. Last month, she requested a motion to modify it so that Ebron would have no contact with the children, but Wednesday she was in court wanting to change that.
Filed July 7, 2015, nearly two-and-a-half weeks before 21-month-old Lonzie disappeared, Ebron's ex-girlfriend motioned to modify the injunction she had against Ebron, on behalf of their children, to order him to have no contact with them, and to include their newest child, who was born in January.
Ebron's ex-girlfriend wrote her reasoning down in the motion, saying, "He has not completed the mental health evaluation or battered intervention. I do not feel safe and I fear he will attempt to take minor children. He has threatened suicide and held an unloaded gun to his head just to see my reaction. He has made indirect threats to me. He has been violent before," the ex-girlfriend said.
She also claimed in a separate police report that Ebron raped her twice, once in November and then again in July of this year.
Today, both Ebron and his ex-girlfriend were in court where the judge told them they had the right to not say anything that could be used against them in criminal proceedings. Both pleaded the fifth.
It was then brought to the judge's attention that Ebron's ex-girlfriend filed a motion to dismiss the no contact modification.
No because both Ebron and his ex-girlfriend pleaded the fifth and decided not to say anything, the judge ordered the motion of no contact to be dismissed.
Ebron is expected back in court Sept. 2, facing charges of child neglect and lying to police.