Boyfriend of mother accused of making baby smoke pot is also charged

The boyfriend of the Raleigh mother charged last week with letting her infant smoke marijuana had a first court appearance Wednesday afternoon after being arrested himself.

As if on a daytime talk show, Allan Maldonado, a lanky 18-year-old, emphasized to District Court Judge Keith Gregory that the one-year-old baby seen smoking marijuana on a social media post that went viral last week was not his child.

"I want a DNA test," Maldonado said to Gregory. "I went to Child Protective Services and asked for a DNA test. It's not my child."

Police last week arrested Maldonado, the boyfriend of Brianna Ashanti Lofton, the 20-year-old Raleigh mother at the center of a social media firestorm after two videos of her baby smoking marijuana were posted on her Facebook page, where she goes by the moniker, "Bree Bhadd."

Investigators think the offenses happened on Dec. 1.

Maldonado, of Raleigh, has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and two misdemeanor counts of simple possession of marijuana, according to an arrest warrant filed Wednesday afternoon at the Wake County clerk of court's office.

Gregory told Maldonado that he could spend 120 days in jail for each of the charges accusing him of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, if he is convicted and 20 days each if he is convicted of the simple marijuana possession charges.

Gregory asked the teen if he wanted a court-appointed attorney.

"Yeah, I would like that," Maldonado replied.

He is in custody at the Wake County jail and being held in lieu of $5,000 bail. Gregory ordered him to comply with conditions set by child protective services and to have no contact with the child.

Maldonado had been in custody in the Johnston County jail on unrelated charges.

The arrest warrant did not make clear Maldonado's relationship with the child.

Police charged both Lofton, of the 4700 block of Caldera Lane, and Maldonado, of 3737 Dusty Lane, on March 21, court records show.

Lofton was charged with two felony counts of intentional child abuse with serious bodily injury. Like Maldonado, she was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and one misdemeanor charge of simple possession of marijuana, according to arrest warrants. Lofton was transported to the Wake County Detention Center and placed under a $100,000 bond.

In two videos posted on Facebook, an adult's hand is shown holding a brown cigar or cigarette to a child's mouth. The child is seen exhaling smoke in both videos. Raleigh police warrants said Lofton was accused of "causing, encouraging and aiding a one-year-old child to smoke a marijuana blunt" and intentionally injuring the baby with the "inhalation of marijuana," on Dec. 1.

Raleigh residents and others began posting the video and comments on the Raleigh police Facebook page just after 9:30 a.m. on the day Lofton and Maldonado were arrested.

Raleigh police Lt. Jason Hodge said, "We welcome and encourage any assistance the public is willing to give us at all times."

Lofton could spend up 17 years in prison if she is convicted of the felony child abuse charges. Like Maldonado, the Raleigh woman and could spend up to 120 days in jail for each of the delinquency offenses she has been charged with and 20 more days for the marijuana violation.

The child, now 16 months old, is in the custody of Wake County Child Protective Services.

Maldonado's mother, Karya Maldonado, filed a motion for a no-contact order against Lofton on July 25, 2017. Court records show that Karya Maldonado and her son share the same address.

In the order filed at the Wake County Clerk of Court's Office, she described Lofton as her son's girlfriend.

Karya Maldonado stated that Lofton twice damaged her car, smoked marijuana in her home and repeatedly visited the house, against her wishes. Maldonado stated that she "has had to call the police six times to keep her away from the house."

A district court judge on Aug. 1 ordered Lofton not to come within 25 yards of Karya Maldonado's home.

Thomasi McDonald: 919-829-4533, @thomcdonald

This story was originally published March 28, 2018 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Boyfriend of mother accused of making baby smoke pot is also charged."