Daycare Owner Who Shot Child Molester Husband Says She “Snapped” After Learning Of Abuse

As calls for her to be freed, a daycare owner is speaking out from jail about shooting her husband for molesting children. 

Shanteari Weems is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for shooting her husband, James Weems, in July 2022. Shanteari says after learning that her husband abused the kids who were in her care, she “snapped.” She shot James, a former Baltimore police officer, twice inside a Washington D.C. hotel room after confronting him about molesting the children. The woman, also a former correction officer, said the mother of one of the victims revealed that James was the one molesting her child after authorities initially began looking into her daycare. During the argument inside the hotel, Shanteari shot him twice. She received her sentence in February 2023 but said her support system keeps her afloat. 

“Despite my surroundings, I’m doing OK. I have a lot of supporters and people who uplift me and help me survive,” she shared in an exclusive interview with WUSA 9 from behind bars.  

The 50-year-old says her husband had previously denied hurting the kids in the daycare, and since detectives were vague about the allegations, she initially believed James. But after speaking with the victims’ mothers, she had no doubts about what had taken place. Still, the revelation was a deep blow.

“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 stated. The child in question was one that Shanteari had watched for years. She says she thinks about them and the rest of her beloved children on a regular basis. 

James survived the shooting and has since been charged with sexual assault and other charges related to the abuse of the minors. He remains behind bars without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson.