AMBER ALERT: 21 Month Old Lonzie Barton Missing Since 7/24/15 in Jacksonville,FL

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/2nd-command-center-open-on-northside/34436626

As Lonzie search continues, help, support floods in from all over
Jacksonville police expand search to include Jacksonville's Northside

 Published On: Jul 30 2015 07:35:00 AM EDT   Updated On: Jul 31 2015 12:00:30 AM EDT

 
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has relocated its command center from the Southside, near where the toddler disappeared almost a week ago, to New Berlin Elementary School. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from a dozen sheriff's offices and police departments and other first responders set out Thursday morning to search a massive area (see map below).

Ann Williams, who has lived for 40 years near where Starratt Road backs up to a creek feeding the Nassau River, awoke Thursday to police from various agencies and K-9 teams searching around her property.
 
One little boy on Wednesday donated a box of dog treats for the K-9 officers, who were out in force with their handlers on Thursday, sniffing around Northside neighborhoods.

JSO tweeted a picture of the boy, named Colton Scews, with Hackney, who said during Thursday's media update that he was moved by the boy, who ran up to hug him and say he'd been praying for Lonzie.

VIDEO: Colton helped investigators

“We’ve been watching from the beginning haven’t we? And we’ve been praying for Lonzie,” Kimberly Screws, Colton’s mom, said.

“Yeah we’ve been praying for Lonzie and his mommy and daddy,” Colton said.

Kimberly Screws said she and Colton got the idea to help from social media.

“We just had seen on social media a lot of people asking for supplies. Bug spray, water and that stuff. So we went to the store yesterday and got bug spray, chips and sunscreen. And Colton said, ‘What about the police dogs?’ And I said, “OK,’ and we got them treats,” Kimberly Screw said.

Colton headed down, fed the search dogs, found Hackney and impacted the face of this investigation.

“This has tugged on my heart -- this whole case from the beginning -- that melted my heart yesterday," Hackney said. "There's not been much to smile about. That was something yesterday that I could smile about.”
 

[MuffyBee]

  Thank you to all who are searching, donating and praying.  I hope little Lonzie can be found soon.

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2015-08-01/story/sheriffs-office-makes-emotional-plea-information-lonzie-barton-search

Sheriff's Office makes emotional plea for information on Lonzie Barton as search stalls

By Christopher Hong Sat, Aug 1, 2015 @ 2:21 pm | updated Sat, Aug 1, 2015 @ 4:00 pm

Police are still closing a few “loose ends” in their search for missing toddler Lonzie Barton but will soon focus their efforts on their criminal investigation into the child’s disappearance.

The search returned on Saturday to the southern part of Jacksonville, where the child was last seen, after police combed the city’s Northside on Thursday and Friday, said Tom Hackney, chief of investigations for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. About 73 officers were involved in the search on Saturday, a significant reduction from the 276 that were involved in the last few days.

After Saturday, Hackney said police would still investigate tips about the child’s whereabouts. But police will scale back their search and primarily focus on learning who was responsible for Lonzie’s disappearance.
 
He also continued to discredit William Ruben Ebron Jr., the boyfriend of the child’s mother and the last person known to be with him. Police have jailed Ebron on child negligence charges and suspect he was involved in the child’s disappearance, although he has maintained his innocence.

“I’ve been advised not to call Ruben Ebron a monster, so I’ll leave it to the viewer, to the citizens to come up with their own adjectives to describe him,” Hackney said. “Ruben Ebron has a right to a skillful defense, but you know what? I have the right to build a spectacular case against him.”
 
Video at link

[texasmom]

 

http://www.news4jax.com/news/volunteers-take-up-search-for-missing-toddler/34509312

Police cancel Amber Alert, confident that Ruben Ebron killed Lonzie Barton

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office releases video evidence in murder case

Author: Scott Johnson, General assignment reporter, sjohnson@wjxt.com
Kent Justice, Anchor, reporter, kjustice@wjxt.com
Vic Micolucci, General assignment reporter, vic@wjxt.com

Published On: Aug 03 2015 02:43:02 PM EDT   Updated  1 h



Jacksonville Sheriff's Office releases video of Rubel Ebron's Honda Civic being parked where police found it blocks from his apartment and a man they claim is Ebron running from the scene minutes before he called 911 to report that his car was stolen with Lonzie Barton inside.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

Police announced late Monday the Amber Alert for 21-month-old Lonzie Barton is canceled and they are 100 percent sure the toddler who disappeared 10 days ago was killed by mother's boyfriend.

"I'm cancelling the Amber Alert and not working this as an abduction anymore," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Chief of Investigations Tom Hackney said. "We are working this as a murder case. You need to know that. Ruben Ebron needs to know that."

This comes after the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office obtained surveillance video that that it said shows Ebron abandoning the car he claimed was stolen with Lonzie Barton inside and running away minutes before he called 911 to report it stolen and the toddler taken.

[Lonzie Barton and Ruben Ebron] Police said Ebron was wearing the same clothes as the man running in the video when he taken in for police interviews after reporting the abduction. (Watch video below)

 

Hackney appealed again for Ebron or those who have information about what happened to Lonzie to come forward with any possible explanation other than that the car theft story was made up to cover up the child's death.

"His narrative is crumbling, We have a surprising amount of physical evidence."

 

[Green Eyes]

Does this surprise any one?  Once again why?  I hope he tell the police what he did with Lonzie. 

[texasmom]

Does this surprise any one?  Once again why?  I hope he tell the police what he did with Lonzie. 

Doesn't surprise me at all.   

They had to know from the little girl that he wasn't telling the truth. 

Some on social media think the mother is involved too.  I don't know enough to have an opinion about that, but I hope she's not.

I just hope they can find Lonzie. 

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/continuing-the-investigation-of-lonzie-barton/34539022

VIDEO: Over the past 12 days, searchers have tried to find answers in the investigation that has lead police to one sole suspect--Ruben Ebron. News4Jax spoke to a man who says Ebron may have rehearsed the fake abduction with another person.


Now the animal won't do on air video interviews unless they pay him....wth???
What a dang idiot.

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2015-08-06/story/police-tauntings-suspect-denial-mark-back-and-forth-lonzie-case


Police taunting, suspect denial mark back and forth in Lonzie Barton case
Video perhaps better than DNA, experts say

By Dana Treen Thu, Aug 6, 2015 @ 3:46 pm | updated Thu, Aug 6, 2015 @ 7:07 pm

In police briefings, the chief of Jacksonville’s crime investigation unit taunted the man he believes is responsible for the disappearance of Lonzie Barton, challenging William “Ruben” Ebron Jr. to confess and promising that the cops are closing in.
 
Initially Ebron fought back in public interviews with The Florida Star and a Jacksonville television station. He declined an interview with The Florida Times-Union.

In his public comments, he said he wanted the boy — he referred to as “my child” in a police report — found as much as anyone.

While at least one legal expert cringes a bit at some of the tactics police are using, he said Ebron is in bigger danger of damaging himself if he thinks he can outsmart the cops.

At the same time, the surveillance video that Chief of Investigations Tom Hackney called one of the “bullets in the smoking gun” is part of a growing technology that has become increasingly crucial in solving cases — better perhaps than DNA.
 
Ebron is putting himself in a more treacherous spot, Dekle said.

“If I was the public defender, I would go down to the jail and strangle my client,” he said. “There are some people who have the magic belief that they can talk themselves out of trouble,” he said.
 

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/local/volunteers-hold-vigil-lonzie-barton-baker-skinner-/nnFrb/

Posted: 5:35 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, 2015

Volunteers to hold vigil for Lonzie Barton at Baker Skinner Park

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/local/interview-jsos-tom-hackney-findlonzie-investigatio/nnFj3/

Posted: 3:01 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, 2015

Interview: JSO's Tom Hackney on #FindLonzie investigation

 By Paige Kelton

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —

Action News Jax’s Paige Kelton interviewed Chief Tom Hackney on Thursday as the two-week mark approached of the disappearance of 21-month-old Lonzie Barton. Hackney, has been the Jacksonville Sheriff Office’s most visible figure in the investigation, speaking at multiple media briefings and constantly placing pressure on Ruben Ebron, the main suspect in the case, to reveal what he knows.

The full interview will air on Action News Sunday. Previous segments: Action News Sunday
 

[KarmaRoundUp]

2 very informative interviews with Chief Hackney about the Lonzie Barton case.Look below the interview video for videos on August 9th


http://www.actionnewsjax.com/s/actionnewssunday/

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2015-08-11/story/mother-suspect-missing-lonzie-case-questions-evidence-says-state


Mother of suspect in Lonzie case questions evidence, says State Attorney's Office bullied her

By Cristin Wilson Tue, Aug 11, 2015 @ 6:51 pm | updated Tue, Aug 11, 2015 @ 7:07 pm

The mother of the main suspect in toddler Lonzie Barton's disappearance said she questions the validity of the video recently released in the case and said that the State Attorney's Office — even State Attorney Angela Corey herself — tried to bully her last week.

The State Attorney’s Office said it was the other way around concerning the interview.

“The hostility came from one direction — Wanda Ebron,” according to a statement released by Jackie Barnard. “Mrs. Ebron was hostile, uncooperative and evasive in the interview.”

Ebron, 58, said the State Attorney’s Office kept her and her husband, William Ebron Sr., separate when they questioned the two about their son, William Ruben Ebron Jr., on Thursday after being subpoenaed.
 
Wanda Ebron said questioning at the State Attorney’s Office didn’t go smoothly. At times, shouting matches erupted between her and the prosecutors. “They were trying to make me say what they wanted to hear,” she said.

She said they showed her a video that police believe shows her son running away from the car that he said was stolen with Lonzie inside.
 
Ebron said after watching the video, she couldn’t say whether that was her son. “I did not agree because I did not know what the hell they were showing me,” she said.

She said it looked to her as if the video was the result of cut and paste, as if it had been manipulated to show her son in that situation when it may not have been him.

She said her husband also couldn’t identify their son in the video. Police previously said they believe it’s him because the clothes appear to be the same as the ones he was wearing when he talked with investigators the morning of Lonzie’s disappearance.

“They asked me a million things," Ebron said. "Angela [Corey] chimed in and read me the law and the riot act. She was doing it with the meanest face I’ve ever seen on anybody. … They were trying to bully me.”

Ebron said her husband’s experience didn’t seem as bad as hers.
 
Wanda Ebron said that based on conversations she’s had with Lonzie’s mother, 25-year-old Lonna Lauramore, her feeling is that the boy is not dead, and she’s hoping and praying he’s OK.

When the Ebrons talked with their son Monday night, he said he was doing fine but that the police want Lauramore to pursue domestic-violence charges so they can keep him in jail if he gets off for Lonzie, according to his mother.

She said Lauramore has been calling the Ebrons to show her support and says how much she loves their son. Lauramore said she knows he didn’t hurt Lonzie and when the truth comes out her child be back with her.

“With all of the information I’m hearing from everyone, I just don’t believe he’s dead,” Wanda Ebron said.

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/jso-trains-near-lonzie-barton-search-zone/34659002



JSO trains near Lonzie Barton search zone
Officers train in searching wooded areas near where toddler search took place

Author: Heather Leigh, Mobile journalist, hleigh@wjxt.com
Published On: Aug 11 2015 05:05:45 PM EDT   Updated On: Aug 11 2015 09:16:21 PM EDT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

A movie theater parking lot packed with police cars had a lot of Jacksonville residents asking questions Tuesday afternoon.

More than 20 police cruisers were parked in the Regal Avenues theater parking lot on Philips Highway near Interstate 95 for a few hours.

Officials with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the officers were there as part of a training exercise in how to conduct thorough searches through wooded areas.

The training session came just weeks after several agencies from around the state scoured through heavily wooded areas in the Southside searching for 21-month-old Lonzie Barton. His body has still not been recovered.
 
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said JSO trains all over the city all the time and training is an integral part of being successful. He said Tuesday's training on the Southside was no different, but added that it was smart to conduct training in an area where something could potentially turn up.

"Practice is ongoing. Training is ongoing. The more practice they do, they'll be better equipped to respond in an emergency,” Smith said.

For 10 days, JSO was fully devoted to finding Lonzie, using helicopters in the air, K-9 units on the ground, personnel on horses and ATVs, and divers in bodies of water.

The active search was eventually scaled back after crews were unable to locate the toddler.

"After you have a large incident like the Lonzie Barton search, they'll have an after action report when it's all over to review what went well, what didn't go well, where can we train more, do we need more resources, what changes need to be made,” Smith said. “So if this happens again, we can respond more efficiently."

Smith said while search training in the Southside was not in any way related to the Lonzie search efforts, the community response team did take advantage of the area for practice -- in case they came across something.

During the search for Lonzie, JSO solved two other missing persons cases.
 

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/2015/08/14/police-searching-home-lonzie-barton-baker-county/31731391/

Property searched in Baker County for Lonzie Barton

First Coast News 6:18 p.m. EDT August 14, 2015

MACCLENNY, Fla.- Police searched a property near Baker County home of the grandparents of 21-month-old Lonzie Barton, the child who has been missing for three weeks from Jacksonville's Southside, Friday afternoon.

Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson tells First Coast News that they got a tip from a private search crew that something Lonzie related could have been on the property off Steel Bridge Road.

However, a search with a cadaver dog did not find any evidence, Dobson said.

Large-scale search efforts by authorities to find Lonzie wound down after Sunday, Aug. 2, 10 days after he was originally reported missing by Ruben Ebron, Lonna's boyfriend.

Ebron is considered the prime suspect by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in the case. He's currently being held on two counts of child neglect. He is scheduled to be in court on Monday.
 

[KarmaRoundUp]

https://www.facebook.com/FirstCoastNews

First Coast News
1 hr · Edited ·

EXCLUSIVE: Lonzie Barton's parents sit down with Heather Crawford on First Coast News at 11.

"They were in the car, dropping me off for work and I gave him and Lily a kiss on their forehead and told them mommy loved them and I would see them when they came to pick me up," Lonna Barton says.

"I just never imagined I wouldn't see him again."... See More

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/2015/08/14/lonzie-bartons-parents-interview-believe-child-alive/31758843/

EXCLUSIVE - Lonzie's mother: 'Where is my baby?'

2:01 a.m. EDT August 15, 2015

 
Lonna and Chris Barton, the toddler's father, sat down with Heather Crawford in an exclusive interview, saying they both believe their missing son is still alive -- more than a week after the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced it was investigating the child's case as a murder.

"He's just so joyful and I miss this," Lonna told First Coast News while sharing home video of Lonzie, acknowledging that it's been 21 long day since she last held him in her arms.

"I would give my life just to see him and to know he was safe, and just to have him back in my arms, I would do anything," she said.

The last time she saw her toddler, he and his big sister, Lily, were in the car with Ruben Ebron as they dropped her off for work, Lonna recalls.

"I gave him and Lily a kiss on their forehead and told them mommy loved them and I would see them when they came to pick me up. I just never imagined I wouldn't see him again," she said.
 
"I came home and there was a parking lot full of cops and then them telling me the car had been stolen with my baby in it, and that basically led us to here," Lonna said.

Asked whether she believed the story Ebron had given to investigators -- the same narrative police have said was discredited by a neighbor's surveillance video -- Lonna declined to comment.

As for Lonzie's sister, her mother says she talks about him daily. "She just says, 'We have to find babyman.' Pretty much everywhere we go she will tell people, 'My baby brother is missing, can you please help us find him?'"

The Bartons agreed to sit down with First Coast News because they want the community to know they're grateful for all of the supports, resources, prayers and time that have been dedicated to finding their son. They asked that their faces not be shown for the sake of their other children.
 
More with video in link

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/local/ruben-ebron-expected-court-today/nnLR4/


Updated: 9:56 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17, 2015 | Posted: 5:37 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17, 2015

Ruben Ebron pleads not guilty to three charges

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —

The prime suspect in the Lonzie Barton murder investigation appeared in court at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Ruben Ebron pleads not guilty to all three charges, including two charges of child neglect. He also pleads not guilty to giving false information to police during an investigation.

His next court date will be a pretrial hearing on Sept. 2 at 9 a.m.

According to the State Attorney's Office, Ruben has admitted to making money through sale of narcotics.

The State Attorney's Office filed a motion for a nebbia hearing, which will require Ebron to prove any bond money comes from a legitimate source.

The State Attorney's Office also said Ebron is attempting to profit from the Lonzie case by declining media interviews without pay.

On Friday, Action News Jax reported that an ex-girlfriend of Ruben's accused him of rape. We have learned she does not plan to file charges.

Meanwhile, Lonzie Barton is still missing, 24 days after his disappearance. JSO is treating his disappearance as a murder investigation.

Ebron's parents have visited him in jail looking for answers.

His father, William Ebron, said he does not believe his son intentionally hurt Lonzie.
 

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/2015/08/17/new-police-report-details-allegations-that-william-ruben-ebron-jr-raped-a-woman-weeks-before-lonzie-barton-went-missing/31838075/

Police report details allegations that Ebron raped woman weeks before Lonzie went missing

Andrew Pantazi , Florida Times-Union 6:29 a.m. EDT August 17, 2015

The ex-girlfriend of William Ruben Ebron Jr. accused him of raping her just weeks before toddler Lonzie Barton went missing, a newly released police incident report documents.

On July 1, 23 days before Ebron reported that 21-month-old Lonzie disappeared at the Ravenwood Apartments on South Old Kings Road, his ex-girlfriend called police.

She said she'd gone over to Ebron's home after she left work, and while she was there, he raped her, she said in the police report. She said she had yelled and cried, but he told her to stop.

She said five children were in the home at the time, including her children and his current girlfriend's children. Although no names were listed, Ebron was dating Lonzie Barton's mother at this time, according to police and Times-Union research in the case.
 
Baker County also has a warrant for his arrest for violating the terms of his bond release on a drug charge.
 

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/ruben-ebron-pleads-not-guilty/34754652

Ruben Ebron's mother: He's not a murderer
Suspect in Lonzie Barton's disappearance pleads not guilty on 3 charges

 Published On: Aug 17 2015 05:26:34 AM EDT   Updated  4 m

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

The prime suspect in the disappearance of 21-month-old Lonzie Barton pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of child neglect and one count of lying to police.

William Ruben Ebron Jr. was the boyfriend of Lonzie's mother and is believed to be the last person who saw the toddler alive.

Ebron, 32, was charged with two counts of child neglect after Lonzie's disappearance more than three weeks ago. An additional charge of giving false information to police was added Friday.

Monday morning, Ebron was in an orange jump suit and shackles as a judge formally read the charges against him. He pleaded not guilty. A pretrial hearing was set for Sept. 2.

Ebron will remain in jail on $100,000 bond. Prosecutors said if Ebron was able to post bond, authorities would want to make sure the money was from legitimate sources, not the proceeds of drug sales.

Ebron's mother, Wanda Ebron, said her son might have a criminal record, but he's not a murderer and he did not harm Lonzie.
 
She said Ruben Ebron has three children of his own who miss him terribly, and she said she spoke with Lonzie's mother, who's found a new way to profess her love for Ruben Ebron.

“She loves him and will stick by him, and she has a long, big tattoo (of his name) that police have asked (her) to cover,” Wanda Ebron said. “She said no,
****Picture of Lonzie's mom's(Lonna)big giant ruben tattoo at the link above.I have no words.....**** (because) that's a part of her life. They want her to say one thing, and she won't believe anything they said."

Wanda Ebron said police can't be trusted themselves.

“Murder is very important, and they keep saying they have so much. Well, if they have so much, why are you playing around with menial charges (like) lying to the police,” Wanda Ebron said. “I could say the police are lying. What laws are there to have them challenge their veracity. Nothing."
 

[KarmaRoundUp]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/lonzie-bartons-father-believes-boy-is-alive-wifes-telling-the-truth/34765574

Lonzie Barton's father believes boy is alive; wife's telling the truth

 
"They said that my son has been abducted," Chris Barton said.

Barton was emotional at times as he asked that people didn't forget his son. Despite the fact that police are now considering this a homicide case, he believes Lonzie is alive and being loved.

"I think that he's out there somewhere, that he's happy that he's playing and making someone else smile, the way he makes us smile," Barton said.

Barton did not want to show his face during the interview, saying he wanted to focus all the public's attention on his son.

Chris Barton says he heard his son's voice on the phone two days before he disappeared, and he'll never forget the last time he laid his eyes on his youngest child.

"Before he left to go back with his mom, he held me real tight and gave me a kiss on the cheek," Barton said.

Barton said it's these memories of his little boy that keep him from falling apart and also believing he'll see his son alive again one day.

"You got to believe. You got to believe in something, and now is not the time for negative thoughts. I pray and I hope that he's out there somewhere," Barton said. "Naturally, no one can love him like me and his mom. Let's hope someone's showing him love. You can't help but love him. If you're around him, as you lay eyes on him, you get a feeling for his personality and you fall in love with him right away."
 
Barton said he said questioned Lonzie's mother, Lonna, and believes she doesn't know anything about what happened.

"In your heart of hearts and your intuition as a dad and a husband, you believe that she had nothing to do with this," Barton said. "I've been married to her for seven years and very few people know her as well as I do. I can tell when she's lying and I can tell when she tries to avoid the subject and when she doesn't. Her mind is set on one thing, and that's finding her baby."