Mother Abandons Boy, 3, at St. Louis Mall, Refuses to Pick Him Up From Cops - Shameka Taylor

The Mother of the Year competition for 2008 is heating up early! Among the contenders out of the box early is Shameka Taylor of St. Louis who reportedly not only left her 3-year-old son Cortez at the St. Louis Mills mall in Hazelwood on Saturday, but then refused to come pick the boy up from police. Why? She was afraid she would be arrested and according to some reports is afraid because she already has some outstanding warrants against her. Here's more from Fox News:

Police still want to know why a 3-year-old boy was left alone at a suburban St. Louis shopping mall over the weekend. But by Monday, the child's mother was still refusing to show up and talk with officers.
The boy was discovered by employees around 8:30 p.m. Saturday at NASCAR SpeedPark in the St. Louis Mills mall in Hazelwood, not long before the mall was to close. Mall security searched the area, seeking a parent or guardian but couldn't locate one. They notified Hazelwood police around 9:15 p.m.
The boy told police his name was "Cortez," and officers determined he was 3. But his complete identity was unknown until nearly 21 hours later.
Police circulated his picture to the media, and his aunt called authorities about 6 p.m. Sunday. The aunt verified that she, the boy's mother and a group of children had been at the mall, Hazelwood police Lt. Ken Jewson said.
Soon after that, the mother, identified as 28-year-old Shameka Taylor, phoned police.
"She asked if she would be arrested," Jewson said. Officers told her they wanted questions answered.
But by Monday morning, she still hadn't shown up, and police were searching for her.