Mother of boy, 9, sought in Amber Alert jailed in his abduction, police say
The mother of 9-year-old Liam Smith, who was the subject of a statewide Amber Alert on Tuesday, is now behind bars in connection with the child’s alleged abduction from Miami Gardens.
On Tuesday afternoon, Miami Gardens Police Officers were called to a home in the 17730 block of NW 14th Avenue and met with a woman who told officers she had been tasked with picking Liam up from school when she noticed a car following them.
When she pulled over, Tameeka Budwah, 45, approached her and claimed she was there to take Liam to a doctor’s appointment, according to Budwah’s arrest affidavit.
The woman said she tried to verify this with Liam’s father, Anton Laquane Smith, but before she could do so, Budwah opened the car’s door, removed Liam, and drove away without permission.
Police say Budwah also took Liam’s personal cell phone and a school-issued laptop and refused to return them. Smith, who holds full legal custody, confirmed that Budwah was not authorized to pick up the child and noted that there was a court-ordered injunction prohibiting her from having contact with Liam — an order that officers later verified, according to her arrest affidavit.
After the Amber Alert was issued, Budwah agreed to meet with officers at MGPD headquarters. She arrived with Liam, who was described as “visibly shaken and scared,” by investigators. The boy was reunited with his father and returned safely.
According to court documents, Liam was at the center of a paternity suit and three other domestic violence civil cases between Budwah and Anton Smith. While all four cases have been closed, one did see new filings on Tuesday, the same day as the alleged abduction.
Jail records show Budwah is in Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a slew of charges, including custody interference by a parent, false imprisonment of a child under 13, violation of a domestic violence injunction and burglary as of Wednesday morning. Her attorney information was not yet available on the county clerk’s website.