A Baltimore daycare owner has admitted to shooting her husband over child molestation claims.
According to CBS News, 50-year-old Shanteari Weems pleaded guilty to intentionally shooting her husband on July 21, shortly after learning he was accused of molesting three children at her Lil Kidz Kastle daycare center. Authorities said the incident took place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington D.C., where Shanteari Weems confronted James S. Weems Jr. about the allegations.
The woman allegedly traveled from Baltimore to the D.C. hotel with a 9mm handgun. Shanteari Weems’ attorney claimed she took the weapon for protection, as she knew her husband—an ex-Baltimore police officer—had a licensed handgun.
Shanteari Weems said her husband became increasingly aggressive after she brought up the sex crime allegations, so much so that she opened fire in self-defense. Authorities said James S. Weems was shot once in the leg and once in the neck, but ultimately survived his injuries. Investigators reportedly recovered a note in which the wife expressed her intention to paralyze her husband rather than kill him.
“She was confronted at a very emotional, momentary, shocking moment by the parents of the children that her husband had molested,” said her lawyer, Tony Garcia, as reported by WBALTV 11. “That she let those children, that those children got hurt on her watch, she has extreme, extreme remorse for that … She wrote a note because she thought he wasn’t going to make it. She thought that she was not going to survive that evening. So she wrote a note. In that note, she wrote that she had no intention of killing him at all, but she did have an intent to stop him from molesting more children.”
Shanteari Weems was arrested at the hotel on hit with multiple charges, including aggravated assault while armed, carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or office, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. On Monday, the woman pleaded guilty to the first two charges. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3.
After the shooting, James Weems was transported to the hospital, and was subsequently charged with more than 30 counts of child sexual abuse and assault. He’s reportedly being held in a Baltimore area jail without bond.
Prosecutors said they will likely try to enhance the man’s charges, due to the ages of the alleged victims. His trial is expected to take place sometime in May.
