A Lakewood mother and her boyfriend were sentenced to decades in prison this week after pleading guilty to killing her 11-week-old baby by feeding him a bottle containing methamphetamine bong water. Ezra Johnson, seen in this undated photo, was 11 weeks old when he died from methamphetamine toxicity after his mom and her boyfriend gave him a bottle with meth bong water in it on July 26, 2024. (Courtesy of the First Judicial District Attorney’s office.) Lisa Marie Johnson, 32, and her boyfriend, Alexander Avila, 34, were arrested in November 2024 after giving Johnson’s 11-week-old baby a bottle with meth in it. Lakewood police responded to a call about an unresponsive baby on July 26, 2024, in the 500 block of Vance Street. The baby, Ezra Johnson, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the coroner’s office ruled he died from methamphetamine toxicity. While neither confessed to giving Ezra the bottle that killed him, both told police they knew drugs were stored in baby bottles and other containers in the living space, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Johnson and Avila were initially charged with first-degree murder in Ezra’s death, but both pleaded guilty to lesser charges rather than go to trial. Avila pleaded guilty in November to negligent child abuse resulting in death and being an accessory to a crime, both felonies, Jefferson County court records show. The deal also dropped a charge of felony evidence tampering from his case. Johnson pleaded guilty to negligent child abuse resulting in death in December. Johnson was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday, and Avila was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday. The amount of meth in Ezra’s system when he died was “astronomical,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Tyra Forbes said during Avila’s hearing. The “unexplainable” and “deplorable” living conditions of the house — and that the baby was immediately declared dead — impacted the responding officers, crime scene investigators and community at large, Forbes said. Both Johnson and Avila apologized to the court during their sparsely attended sentencing hearings. “I definitely never intended for Ezra to get hurt … and I am truly sorry for what happened,” Avila said, appearing virtually in court from within the Colorado Department of Corrections. “I think about it every day, and I think about all the things that should have been different,” Avila continued. Jefferson County District Court Judge Tamara Russell told Avila he was given chances to break the cycle of substance abuse through rehab in previous convictions. “At some point … it should’ve been enough for you to go seek help for you and those around you,” Russell said. Russell also called the unfilled room at Avila’s sentencing a tragedy. Avila’s defense attorneys told Russell that the couple at least put a roof over Ezra’s head, “even if the roof was not an acceptable one.” “Ultimately, that was the lesser of two evils to try and get the baby off the streets,” attorney Molly Elizabeth Bramble said. Related Articles Judge blocks Trump administration from withholding social safety net funding to Colorado, 4 other states Englewood school’s inaction enabled bus monitor’s abuse, parents allege in new lawsuit Former Littleton Public Schools employee pleads guilty to abusing students on bus Ex-Arapahoe County social worker who filed false child abuse claim against Aurora councilwoman released on parole Northglenn assisted living staff neglected resident before her death, lawsuit alleges Russell also addressed Johnson during her sentencing, calling motherhood “one of the most important jobs,” according to the district attorney’s office. “Your big mistake wasn’t leaving him with Avila; it was living there, doing drugs, hanging out with people using drugs, and not realizing this was going to come to a head,” Russell said. Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day. ...read more read less