MACCLENNY, Fla. – The mother and father of Lonzie Barton, the toddler who disappeared last summer and whose skeletal remains were found last month, were back in a Baker County courtroom Tuesday on charges resulting from an undercover drug deal.
Lonna Barton, 25, and her husband, Chris Barton, were arrested Sept. 16 after an undercover drug deal at a Baker County motel. Earlier that day, the two appeared in a Duval County courtroom discussing custody of Lonzie's older sister.
Recommended Videos
According to the arrest report, a confidential informant was told Lonna and Chris Barton used syringes to inject themselves with Molly, also known as MDMA or Ecstasy, and they encouraged the informant to do the same.
During the brief hearing Tuesday, the judge set additional pre-trial hearings for the Bartons and the case is set for trial on April 11.
Earlier this month, Lonna Barton's boyfriend, Ruben Ebron, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and other charges connected to Lonzie's death and was sentenced to 20 years in prison..
Lonna testified at a pre-trial hearing in Ebron's case that he sold drugs every day she was with him, including when her children were around. During Ebron's sentencing hearing, he said Lonzie died in a bathtub while the couple was having sex, and that he panicked and hid his body in a trash pile off State Road 9B near Bayard.
Lonna Barton has pleaded guilty in Duval County to charges of child neglect and lying to police and faces up to six years behind bars on those charges. She has yet to be sentenced.