MACCLENNY, Fla. – More undercover video of Lonna and Chris Barton recorded prior to their arrest on drug charges in Baker County is September was released late Thursday by the state attorney’s office.
The Bartons, the parents of missing toddler Lonzie Barton, were arrested with Shawn Clayton Hall after authorities said the three sold the synthetic drug Molly to a confidential informant in Macclenny.
The newly released video shows Lonna Barton talking about drugs and her problems with the Department of Children and Families after the disappearance of her son as well as why she's remained publicly silent over the child's disappearance.
"You wanna sit here and put me down for making a bad decision on who I left my child with. Honestly because I peed clean in the homicide department. When all this was going on, I wasn't even up on drugs," Lonna Barton said.
Lonna also complains about how judged she's been and said she has remained silent despite criticisms from the public.
"Everyone's mad because I ain't got **** to say. But until I'm proved innocent I'm gonna tell the public **** you! I can tell you this right now, just like I told Chris, people that know me know better," Lonna Barton said. "If you have to question whether I did something like that … who could? What momma could?"
IMAGES, QUOTES: Informant's undercover video of Lonna and Chris Barton
Previous undercover video (NOTE: Audio removed because of profane language)
Chris Barton, 41, remains in jail in Baker County on the drug charges. Lonna Barton, 25, is in the Duval County jail, where she and her boyfriend, Ruben Ebron, are charged with child neglect and lying to police in the July 24 disappearance of Lonzie.
The arrest report in the drug case against the Bartons said the informant was told that 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.
According to the arrest report, Baker County officials arrested the Bartons and Hall after Chris Barton sold Molly to undercover detectives three times in two days -- once across from Glen Church of Christ in Glen St. Mary and again at the Motel 6 on State Road 121. Baker County officials said Hall and the couple had been under surveillance for about a month.
One of the videos recorded by the confidential informant includes about 20 minutes of footage of Lonna Barton, Chris Barton, Hall (pictured) and the confidential informant inside a room at the Motel 6. The recordings were released Tuesday as discovery material by the State Attorney's Office.
Attorney Gene Nichols, who is not associated with the case, said that recording someone without their consent is not usually admissible evidence in the state of Florida. He said that rule doesn't apply in this case.
“If the individual is working on behalf of law enforcement, that individual does have rights to videotape, to audiotape. That is what we have here,” Nichols said.
He called the video a “smoking gun” and said the defense will likely try to prevent it from being shown to a jury, but prosecutors should be able to show the video in court.
In the video, Lonna Barton can be seen sitting on a bed attempting to inject herself in the arm with a syringe. She says in the video that she is having trouble injecting herself because she has to go through scar tissue to get to the vein.
REPORT: Christopher Barton, Lonna Lauramore Barton, Shawn Hall arrest report
“There’s a knot. I got a knot, feel it,” Lonna Barton says. “Feel my arm, rub it. Rub it out. Press down. Feel it with my arm flat. You feel that? That’s why it’s not doing it. I’ll just do it in this arm.”
She asks the confidential informant to hold her arm while she tries to inject herself.
Later in the video, Lonna Barton appears to inject Chris Barton in the neck with the same syringe.
“That is what was wrong with it, it’s clogged,” Lonna Barton says.
Chris Barton, Lonna Barton and Hall then get ready to leave the hotel room to buy drugs, but the informant says he wants to stay back to try to calm down from some drugs that he had taken previously. At that point, Lonna Barton makes a comment about calming down.
“Well, when he died, you know how they told me to slow my heart rate down? Like how to calm yourself or whatever? Start at like 60 and just start counting backwards,” Lonna Barton says. “Close your eyes while you’re doing it. Kinda like sit back in the chair, kinda with your eyes closed. It really will slow your heart rate down; you are thinking about something else.”
The Bartons and Hall leave the hotel room, and when the three return, Chris Barton hands a small bag with white powder inside to the informant, but the informant expresses concern that it isn’t the right amount. Chris Barton says more is on the way. The informant appears nervous and even leaves the room to call investigators from the front desk.
“Hey, y'all need to come in now,” he says to detectives. “He gave a little bit, but I’ve got a bad feeling something is fixing to happen to me. I got a bad feeling something is fixing to go down with me, because he’s sharpening knives and everything.”
Nichols said that even though the video was recorded in a hotel, case law says that because it was a drug transaction, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy from the recording by someone acting on behalf of law enforcement.
“If you were going into a hotel room for a business transaction and a quick one, such as the buying and selling of drugs, an individual does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy to keep the government from recording what you are doing or saying in that room,” Nichols said.
According to officials, Hall and Chris Barton were later picked up after leaving the hotel in a vehicle that was headed down Interstate 10, and police found and arrested Lonna Barton at the hotel.
The couple was arrested hours after appearing in a Duval County courtroom, where they each asked for custody of their 5-year-old daughter. Something that Lonna Barton can also be heard complaining about in the newest video.
“(The) thing about it was she’s like, ‘Oh we see that you guys aren’t visiting like you’re supposed to.’ **** I visit. I exceed what you gave me,” Lonna Barton said. “I straight tell them, ‘I’m exceeding what you ****ing gave me. I see her four days more than what you give me.’ I said, ‘My mom brings her to my house every morning. I give her a bath, I get her dressed and my mom takes her to school.’”
Lonna Barton's arrest came as she was out on bond on charges of child neglect and lying to police in connection with the disappearance of Lonzie. Her bond on those charges was later revoked.
Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson said the Bartons' arrests were in no way related to the disappearance of their son, who has never been found.
During the new video the Barton's also discuss the attorney's they have representing them who they said they think will do a good job.
“I seen on the news she walked in and seen people behind her and I was like ****. She must have ****ing attorneys, have two of them walking up behind her,” Chris Barton said. “I just saw you on the news and saw two attorneys. I was like ****, she got this **** on lock.
“Just some of the ****ing things they was asking the lawyer and he was like a I don’t give a **** attitude and he ain’t taking **** from nobody,” Chris Barton continued.
“Yeah, he’s pretty straight. He helped Michael Dunn walk. Got Michael Dunn off and he was guilty,” Lonna Barton said.
“Yeah, that Michael Dunn case was bull****,” Chris Barton said.
Lonna Barton is currently locked up in the Duval County jail without bond. Her bond for the Baker County charges is $700,000. Chris Barton had a higher $950,000 bond in Baker County because he faces a charge of the sale of a synthetic opiate. That bond was later reduced to $115,000.