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Former Cop Shot By Daycare Owner Wife Now Charged WIth Child Molestation
Daycare owner Shanteari Weems allegedly told police that her husband, James Weems, was a "child molester" after she shot him in a Washington D.C. hotel.
A former Baltimore cop who was allegedly shot by his wife after she heard that he had been molesting kids at her daycare has now been charged with sexually abusing children.
James S. Weems Jr., 57, now faces 13 counts for allegedly molesting three children, The Baltimore Banner reports. He has been charged with two counts of third-degree sex offense, three counts of second-degree assault, and one count of displaying obscene material to a minor.
Weems was allegedly shot and injured by his wife, Shanteari Weems, 50, Thursday evening at the Mandarin Hotel in southwest Washington D.C., according to a press release from the D.C. Metropolitan Police.
When police approached the room in which the shooting took place and asked Weems if someone had been shot inside, Shanteari responded, "F--- him, he's a child molester," court documents obtained by WJLA reports. Shanteari allegedly barricaded herself in a hotel room with her husband inside, as he was “suffering from apparent gunshot wounds," according to police.
She had claimed that her spouse of five years, a former Baltimore police officer who left the force in 2008, had been molesting children at her daycare center, Lil Kidz Kastle, located in Ownings Mills, Maryland. She told police that children, teachers, and parents have all come to her with claims that he molested several children.
Police found a notebook in the hotel room in which Shanteari allegedly wrote that she wanted to shoot her husband to the point of paralysis. She allegedly wrote that she wanted “these kids to get justice,” The Baltimore Sun reports. She also allegedly wrote an apology to “my babies,” stating, “I didn’t know.”
James has most recently been working in private security, according to his LinkedIn. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.
Shanteari has been charged with assault with intent to kill, possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of unregistered ammunition, and other gun-related charges. It’s not clear if she has an attorney. A preliminary hearing for her, originally scheduled for Monday, has been moved to Friday, Fox 5 in Washington D.C. reports.
Even before James was charged, the actions of his wife have apparently garnered her support and sympathy. A GoFundMe account called "Support for Shanteari Williams" raised more than $3,000 by Sunday, WTOP reports. The account has since been removed by GoFundMe, which has a policy against using the platform to raise money for criminal defenses.
