A daycare owner has pleaded guilty to shooting her 'child molester' husband in a Washington DC hotel after he was allegedly abusing children in her care. Shanteari Weems (pictured left), 50, of Randallstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty to four charges on Monday and faces up to two years in prison for shooting her husband James Weems Jr. (pictured right), 57, in the leg and the neck at the former Mandarin Oriental hotel in July.
Her lawyers are asking for less time, claiming she shot her husband in self-defense after a mother told her James had assaulted her child at Lil Kidz Kastle, the daycare she owned. Shanteari's attorney, Tony Garcia, said she had taken her 9mm handgun to the hotel for protection, because her husband had his own gun with him as he was working private security for a National Urban League convention in DC.
She claims her husband became aggressive when asked about the alleged assault, and she shot him in fear. However, police said the shooting was premeditated, as she left a journal at the crime scene where she wrote that she didn't want to kill her husband, just 'paralyze' him. She remains in jail after being denied pre-trial release. Garcia told DailyMail.com in August that he found it 'ironic that they think she is a safety risk when the only reason she's in jail is that she was trying to protect the safety of children.'
She also said she wanted him to 'pay' for what he had done to the kids, and her only regret was 'not putting a bullet through his head.' James, a retired Baltimore City cop, is also in custody on child molestation charges and has to use a walker to get around after getting a metal rod surgically placed in his leg. He faces more than 30 counts of child sexual abuse and assault in connection to four victims, according to court records.
Prosecutors have also said they plan to seek enhanced penalties against him based on the ages of the victims. James had been accused of child sexual assault shortly before the allegations that prompted Shanteari tracking him down at the hotel. Her business was closed down after the first accusations. Shanteari is 'cooperating' with Baltimore authorities, where her husband is locked up, to assist with his case. Baltimore police said they had been investigating James prior to the shooting after being 'notified' of his alleged abuse.
Garcia said the shooting was a 'tragedy' and that they are 'not asking anyone to feel sorry for her, but we are asking people to have empathy for her.' Her friends and family worked successfully to have her released and had set up a GoFundMe, which has since been taken down, to help raise money for her defense. Pictured: The Mandarin Oriental hotel.
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