North Carolina

Second arrest made after video of NC baby smoking marijuana goes viral

RALEIGH, N.C. — A second person has been charged after a video on Facebook showed a North Carolina baby smoking marijuana.

The 20-year-old mother of the 1-year-old girl, Brianna Lofton, of Raleigh, was arrested last week.

On Wednesday police announced that 18-year-old Allan Maldonado is also facing charges of contributing to the delinquency of a child and possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance.

According to ABC affiliate WTVD, an arrest warrant states that Maldonado "knowingly...caused, encourage and aid..." the child to smoke a marijuana blunt.

A video of an infant smoking a small marijuana blunt set off outrage on social media that helped North Carolina authorities identify and arrest the mother.

A judge ordered the mother not to have contact with the girl while the case is pending.

Brianna Lofton of Raleigh made a brief court appearance Thursday on charges including child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Police were alerted to the case after a video of the girl smoking received millions of views on social media.

The Wake County judge set her bond at $100,000.

Lofton said little during the hearing but indicated that she wanted a public defender. The public defender's office didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment after the hearing.

A prosecutor asked for a higher bond, noting that the 20-year-old Lofton has faced several misdemeanor charges in the past two years, including assault and marijuana possession.

A version of the video that's received 1.5 million views was posted by a user who urged the mother's arrest. The 10-second clip shows the hand of an adult off-screen holding what appears to be a cigarillo to the child's lips. The child then makes a cooing sound and appears to inhale before letting out a puff of smoke.

The Raleigh Police Department said Wednesday that the child was safe and the mother was in custody.

According to the arrest warrant, the child was inhaling marijuana in the video.

"Big thanks to everyone who posted information about the smoking mother and baby," department officials told their Facebook followers in a post. "Thanks to your willingness to get involved, the child is now safe and the mother is in police custody."

Police spokeswoman Laura Hourigan confirmed in an email that officials were referring to the child seen in the video.

Brianna Ashanti Lofton, 20, was charged with marijuana possession as well as two counts of felony child abuse, according to a police news release.

The baby was placed with the county's child protective services department. A phone listing for Lofton couldn't be found through a public records search.

While police said multiple Facebook users alerted them to the video Wednesday morning, the account holder whose posting was seen by more than a million people said he's glad the child is now safe.

The user, who identified himself as Rasheed Martin of Rochester, New York, said he hasn't spoken directly with police, but he's satisfied that he helped raise awareness. His post prompted numerous comments by people worried about the child or upset with the mother.

Martin said he doesn't know the mother and first found out about the video when a friend shared it online. He said he wanted the woman to be held responsible, so he reposted the video while urging his followers to help identify the woman.

"Once more and more people found out about this situation, they showed me a screenshot of her actual Facebook page," Martin said in in an online interview. "Then I later added it to the post so everyone could know exactly who ... did that to the poor little girl."

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Associated Press

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