Baltimore County day care owner who allegedly shot husband over child molestation accusations pleads guilty to assault, gun charges
BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore County day-care owner accused of shooting her husband during a confrontation over allegations that he molested children in her care pleaded guilty Monday in D.C. court to assault and gun charges, according to court records.
Shanteari Weems is charged with assault with intent to kill and possession of an unregistered firearm, as well as other offenses, in connection with the July 21 shooting and an ensuing standoff with law enforcement at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in the District.
Weems pleaded guilty to aggravated assault knowingly while armed, carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business. She will be sentenced on Feb. 3.
Weems was also charged with possession of a firearm during a crime or violence, and resisting arrest. Those charges will be dismissed at sentencing.
Her attorneys have argued that their client was acting in self-defense when she allegedly shot her husband during a confrontation inside a hotel room. Police said Shanteari Weems shot her husband and threatened to harm herself if they entered the room.
Two guns, an informal will and a notebook detailing Weems' alleged plans to shoot her husband were among the items recovered as evidence in the investigation, according to court records.
Weems, a former corrections officer, is the registered owner of Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center, a child-care facility in Owings Mills. The facility is now entangled in a police investigation into allegations that at least three children who attended daycare there were molested.
James Weems, a retired Baltimore police officer, was hospitalized after the July 21 shooting with multiple gunshot wounds. He has since been discharged and remains in police custody while he awaits trial on multiple sexual abuse charges.
His wife's attorneys have publicly contended that their client went to confront her husband about the allegations when things escalated and he advanced toward her.
She was denied bond in August after a D.C. magistrate deemed her a danger to the community and expressed "great concern" about her ability to "make decisions rationally."