18-year-old man charged with helping N.C. infant smoke marijuana
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The turbulent home life of a North Carolina infant seen smoking pot on a viral video was evident Wednesday as a second person appeared in court on charges of giving her a marijuana blunt. Allan Maldonado, 18, is charged with helping the 1-year-old girl smoke in videos that sparked outrage after they were seen by millions on social media last week.
CBS affiliate WNCN-TV reports Maldonado was booked into Johnston County Jail and was later transported to Wake County.
He made a short appearance in a Raleigh courtroom on misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and marijuana possession.
Maldonado, who asked for a public defender, told the judge he wanted to take a paternity test to prove that the child isn't his.
"I asked for DNA, sir, because I know that's not my child," Maldonado said.
The judge responded that was a matter for a separate hearing.
The girl's mother, 20-year-old Brianna Ashanti Lofton, was arrested last week on charges including child abuse and marijuana possession. The baby was placed with child protective services, and Lofton and Maldonado have been ordered to have no contact with the girl.
During a court appearance last week, a judge set Lofton's bail at $100,000, according to WNCN-TV.
It appears that whatever relationship Lofton and Maldonado had was stormy. Both were charged last August with misdemeanor counts of assaulting each other, according to court records. The child would have been a few months old at the time.
An attorney for Lofton didn't immediately respond to an email asking about her relationship with Maldonado.
Authorities accuse Lofton and Maldonado of giving marijuana to the child to smoke multiple times over a two-month period starting last December, according to arrest warrants.
One of the videos showed the hand of an adult off-screen holding the cigarillo to the girl's lips. The child makes a cooing sound, appears to inhale and lets out a puff of smoke before turning toward the adult with an expressionless look.
Police say they were alerted a week ago to the video of the child smoking after scores saw it on social media. A Facebook user whose posting urged arrests and was seen by millions said he got it from a friend and didn't know the people involved.
