MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A 50-year-old woman was arrested over the weekend after a witness who spotted two unattended girls selling candy along Ocean Drive notified Miami Beach police, authorities confirmed.
According to the arrest report, the witness was dining with her husband at a restaurant along Ocean Drive and Seventh Street when they were approached by the girls, who appeared to be under 12.
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The witness told police that she asked the girls why they were selling candy and they told her that their grandmother was on 12th Street and Ocean Drive waiting for them to sell all of the candy, “and if they didn’t that something bad was going to happen.”
Police said officers canvassed the area and spotted a total of five children getting into a blue Dodge Caravan that was parked on 12th Street and Ocean Drive.
They then made contact with the driver, identified as Tamara Smith, of Lauderdale Lakes.
According to the report, officers learned that two of the children were Smith’s grandchildren and the three others were her own children.
Police said the youngest child was just 6 years old.
According to the report, the children had no way of communicating with Smith while they were selling candy, and at some points, they were as far as five blocks away from her, out of sight.
“The children were required to traverse through heavy foot traffic in the vicinity of several nightclubs and cross multiple intersections and oncoming vehicular traffic on Ocean Dr. in areas that were not well-lit as late as 10:00 pm in order to return to the defendant who was waiting in the vehicle,” the arrest report stated.
Smith was arrested on a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm.
According to the report, the children were released to Smith’s adult son, Taril Smith, who is the father of one of the children.
Police said they verified that Taril Smith did not have any outstanding warrants prior to releasing the children to him.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has been notified about the incident.
As of Monday afternoon, Tamara Smith was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and her bond had yet to be set.