A woman was arrested for taking her child from a family member in Florida.
According to local law enforcement, 33-year-old Amanda Lynn Burkes was arrested after taking one of her children from the home of a family member given custody by the court. Due to a safety plan in place, Burkes was not allowed to have unsupervised contact with the child and did not have custody.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Burkes broke into the home on Ranchette Trail in Palatka and took the child. Deputies were called at 3:19am by the child’s biological grandmother when she discovered the rear door of the residence was unsecured and the child was no longer in the home.
This triggered an extensive response by the Sheriff’s office. Local detectives did have a reverse 911 call sent to neighbors in the area.
Burkes was located after approaching another child at a bus stop in the area of Comer Road and Bardin Road to use the child’s phone to call a friend to pick her up, according to law enforcement. Burkes fled after using the cellphone to a nearby church. Deputies arrived at the scene of Oakhill Baptist Church and found the building unlocked. During a search of the building they found Burkes and the child hiding inside a bathroom.
“To say we were relieved to safely recover this child is an understatement,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said. “A mother is someone who ensures their child is safe, protected, fed and loved and while Ms. Burkes may profess love, she does not understand the concept by continually endangering her children.”
During a search of Burkes prior to her arrest deputies also found THC wax and e-cigarettes containing THC liquid, according to law enforcement.
She was arrested and charged with interference in custody of a minor, burglary of an occupied dwelling, drug possession and drug paraphernalia. She was taken to the Putnam County jail.
Law enforcement added that Burkes was arrested at another church on Bardin Road in May when she was found unconscious in the parking lot with her three small children in the back seat. At that time, she was arrested for trafficking amphetamine and three counts of child neglect.
