The daycare owner who shot her husband after being told he was abusing children at her center will go to trial and faces ten years in prison.
Shanteari Weems, 50, shot her husband James in the leg and neck in a hotel room at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington DC after being told by one of the mothers who uses her center that he had molested their child.
It was the second allegation she’d heard, and since then James has been charged by police in Baltimore with ten counts of suspected child abuse.
Wanting to hurt him, she drove with her legally-owned gun to the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington DC where James was staying to attend a conference and shot him in the leg and the neck. She was then taken into custody after a standoff with police, and confessed.
A police investigation then found that James, a retired Baltimore cop, had abused at least three children at the Kidz Kastle daycare center his wife runs in July this year. He was charged with ten offenses and is in being held in custody.
Now, she faces up to 10 years in prison on charges of assault and weapons offenses.
Weems’ attorney Tony Garcia says she is a non-violent woman who has spent 20 years caring for kids.
‘She is remorseful but it’s a relief that law enforcement believes he molested children.
Shanteari Weems, 50, faces 10 years in prison for shooting her husband, James Weems Jr. 57. He has been charged with ten child sex offenses
James Weems Jr. was shot in the leg by his wife Shanteari on July 21 at the Mandarin Oriental. She had just been told by a mother of one of the kids who attends her daycare that her husband was abusing children. He has now been charged with 10 child sex offenses
Daycare owner Shanteari Weems, 50, in a photo provided to DailyMail.com. She has spent 20 years working in childcare before her husband was accused of child molestation earlier this month
‘He was denying it, but now that it’s been confirmed. She was right. He was molesting them.
‘And in fact, it’s worse than what she thought because there are three children involved, not two.’
James Weems Jr. 57, is being held in custody in Baltimore.
He has been charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a minor, three counts of third degree sexual assault, three counts of fourth degree sexual assault and one count of displaying obscene material to a minor.
He was also charged with an additional three counts of second degree assault.
The alleged offenses took place on July 3rd at the Lil Kidz Kastle daycare run by his wife Shanteari Weems. On July 21, Shanteari drove to the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington DC to confront her husband.
She had just been told by one of the mothers from her daycare center that Weems had abused their child.
It was the second allegation against her husband; the first temporarily closed the center. Shanteari, 50, took her gun with her.
Once inside her husband’s hotel room, she claims he became aggressive towards her – so she shot him in ‘self-defense’.
She had also, however, written notes talking about her desire to hurt him as payback for the alleged abuse.
The incidents took place on July 3 at the daycare center in Randallstown, where James was working as a bus driver for the business.
Shanteari Weems, 50, is shown outside the Mandarin Oriental, having just shot her husband James in the leg
The couple had been at the $400-a-night hotel in Washington DC for James, a retired cop, to attend an event
Shanteari Weems’ daycare center, the Lil Kidz Kastle in Randallstown, near Baltimore
The 57-year-old served in the Baltimore Police Department previously, and was also a security guard for a time.
Shanteari has worked in childcare for 20 years, but has only been married to her husband for five.
Last week, as she was denied bond, her attorney told DailyMail.com: ‘It’s ironic that they think she is a safety risk when the only reason she’s in jail is because she was trying to protect the safety of children.’
He added that she was ‘relieved’ her husband had been charged with child sex crimes because it proves ‘she was right’.
It is unclear whether or not James Weems has an attorney. The court docket in his case suggests he may soon be represented by a public defender.
Weems is shown outside the daycare center in Owings Mills, Maryland. She was furious when the center was closed earlier this month after the first allegation against her husband
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