Woman Who Shot Husband Who Allegedly Molested Kids Says She’ll ‘Apologize’ When He Does Daycare owner Shanteari Weems pleaded guilty to assault and gun charges for the shooting of James Weems Jr.By Brenton Blanchet Brenton Blanchet Instagram Twitter Writer/Reporter, PEOPLE
People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 11, 2023 04:11 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Shanteari Weems, James Weems Jr.Shanteari Weems is opening up about her decision to shoot her former husband James Weems Jr.over allegations he had sexually abused children at her daycare center .
Weems, 50, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license and has since been sentenced to four years in jail, told WUSA9 in a new interview that she “snapped.”
When asked if she’s remorseful, the daycare owner said she’s sorry for her actions but will not apologize to her husband.”I will apologize when he apologizes to those children,” she said.
Wife Shoots Husband After He is Accused of Molesting Kids at Her Daycare Center Court documents previously obtained by WMAR stated that Shanteari and James, 57, were in a hotel room at the luxury Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C.when she confronted him about allegations made against him by the parents of children who attended her Lil’ Kidz Kastle Daycare Center in Owings Mills, Md.
James, who retired from the Baltimore police force in 2005, worked as a bus driver at the daycare for two years.Shanteari’s attorney, Tony Garcia, previously argued that she shot her husband in self defense when he advanced toward her in a threatening manner during the argument.
Two guns and a notebook were then recovered from the room, and the notebook allegedly contained a makeshift will and Shanteari’s written plans to shoot James — where she reportedly wrote that her goal was to “paralyze” him, not kill him.
After Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe handed her a four-year sentence — which was twice what prosecutors recommended in a plea deal, per WUSA9 — Shanteari said she was “emotional” in her reaction.
“Despite my surroundings, I’m doing OK,” Shanteari told the outlet.
“I have a lot of supporters and people who uplift me and help me survive.”
As previously reported, James faces over 30 counts of child sexual abuse and assault charges related to at least four alleged victims, according to court files reviewed by The Washington Post .He is now reportedly being held without bond until he goes on trial in May.Thomas Plavanic, a lawyer for James, reportedly declined comment to reporters, per the latest WUSA9 story.
While Asst.U.S.Attorney La Vater Massie-Banks said police told Shanteari that her husband was under investigation days before the shooting and that her daycare would be shut down during the proceedings, Shanteari said police were vague.
“The only person I had to find out information from was my husband,” she said.”And he kept saying he didn’t do it …I did believe him.”
Eventually, a mother of a child from her daycare alleged James was responsible.Shanteari told WUSA9 that when she saw the “pain in [the mother’s] face,” she “knew she was not lying.”
“I felt like the blood had just drained out of my body because …it was my husband,” Shanteari said.”He was supposed to help me protect these children.
He always told me he was my protector.So when I heard this, I just felt like – I just felt like my world had ended.”
“We were both supposed to be on this crusade of saving children, and child molestation is something that we had talked about all the time, how horrible it was,” she added.
“I think about that child all the time.
I think about all the children, all the time.”
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Prosecutors allege she texted her business partner that she would “kill [James] and then myself.” James was then shot in the neck and leg, and the judge called the shooting “deliberate cruelty.”
“She was confronted with a situation where a child that she had watched take their first steps, go to the first day of [school], learn how to ride a bike, grow up in front of them – she had this parent come to her and broke her whole world,” Shanteari’s lawyer Tony Garcia told the outlet.
“And in a moment she had a drink and confronted that person in just a moment …And to measure her by, I don’t know, one minute, five minutes – 40 minutes out of her entire lifetime of good? To me it’s terrible.”
“Never have I been hit like that in trial without warning or without some sort of courtesy that the judge disagreed with the agreement between the parties,” the lawyer added.
Shanteari also shared that she contemplated killing herself after she “trusted the wrong person.” She filed for divorce in February.
“I’m definitely going to make a great batch of lemonade from these lemons I’ve been dealt,” she said, adding that she plans to start a nonprofit upon her release.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor..
