HOUSTON — A Harris County mortgage broker has been charged with felony injury to a disabled person after authorities alleged she struck her ex-husband and threw him from his wheelchair during a confrontation outside a Houston hotel.
The criminal complaint against Tamela Andreka Smith was filed Oct. 12, 2026, in Harris County’s 174th District Court. It alleges Smith intentionally and knowingly caused bodily injury to her ex-husband by striking, grabbing and pushing him during a July 31 incident.
Smith’s mortgage broker license was independently confirmed for this report.
Activists Dr. Candice Matthews and Quanell X called for licensing consequences in response to the allegations. Both emphasized protecting elderly people, although the charging instrument identifies Smith’s ex-husband as a disabled person and does not give his age.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the confrontation occurred near the valet area of the DoubleTree hotel at 6 Greenway Plaza. Smith’s ex-husband told police that an argument escalated and that she pushed him from his wheelchair, injuring his ankle and back. He reported being transported to a hospital.
Houston Police Department investigator D. Sotomayor wrote that hotel surveillance footage showed Smith repeatedly striking her ex-husband’s arms and shoulders, pushing his chest with both hands and later grabbing his upper body and throwing him to the ground. Both fell, according to the affidavit, which alleges she then got up and struck his head with an open hand.
The investigator’s account also describes Smith’s ex-husband extending his arm toward her face during the confrontation and later attempting to grab her arm. The affidavit says one apparent reach did not make contact with her face; another was unclear because of the camera angle. The recording had no audio.
Smith gave police a different account of how the confrontation developed. According to the affidavit, she said her ex-husband approached her, cursed at her and followed her toward a staircase. She said he poked her in the face and that she pushed him back, causing him to fall from his wheelchair.
When the investigator described footage allegedly showing her grabbing him and striking him, she said she could not recall those actions, the affidavit states. The investigator also reported that she later lifted her ex-husband from the ground and returned him to his wheelchair.
Matthews called for swift regulatory review, suspension through due process and revocation if the allegations are proven.
“Protecting our elders must carry more weight than protecting someone’s career,” Matthews said.
Quanell X called for stripping Smith of her professional license and barring her from practicing in Texas, arguing that allegations of harm to vulnerable people raise serious questions about public trust.
The activists’ demands concern Smith’s mortgage broker license. The charging instrument does not document any licensing action, and the allegations have not been proven in court.