A Black daycare owner has admitted to shooting her husband after he was accused of molesting children in her care, according to CBS News.
Shanteari Weems, a 50-year-old woman living near Baltimore, pleaded guilty Monday (November 28) in Washington D.C. court to wounding James S. Weems Jr. She learned her husband was allegedly molesting three children at her daycare, Lil Kidz Kastle in Owning Mills, Maryland. This culminated in a heated confrontation with James Weems at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in D.C. on July 21, leaving him with gunshot wounds in his neck and leg, according to police records.
The husband survived his injuries and was rushed to a hospital after the shooting, but ended up getting charged with over 30 counts of child sexual abuse and assault.
Shanteari Weems' attorney claims she traveled from Baltimore to D.C. with a 9mm handgun for self-defense since James Weems Jr. is a former Baltimore police officer and had a licensed handgun. Investigators also obtained a note indicating the wife's intention to paralyze her husband to keep him from targeting more kids.
“She was confronted at a very emotional, momentary, shocking moment by the parents of the children that her husband had molested,” Tony Garcia, who represents Shanteari Weems, said per WBAL-TV. “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."
The daycare owner was arrested for several charges but pleaded guilty to aggravated assault while armed and carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business. Her sentencing hearing is set for February 3.
As for James Weems Jr., prosecutors are seeking enhanced charges against him due to the alleged victims' ages, according to CBS News. His trial is expected to take place in May.
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