Owings Mills Daycare Owner Sentenced For Shooting Husband Over Sexual Assault Allegations

OWINGS MILLS - The Owings Mills daycare owner who shot her husband, a former Baltimore Police officer accused of sexually assaulting children, was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday.

Fifty-year-old Shanteari Weems pleaded guilty in November to aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license.

She was indicted in October on charges of aggravated assault, firearm possession in a crime of violence, carrying a pistol without a license, and resisting arrest.

​​D.C. Superior Court Judge Michael O'Keefe sentenced Weems to four years in prison, including two years of probation, mandatory therapy, and counseling, and required that she register as a gun offender.

Weems traveled to the former Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2022. At the hotel, Weems confronted her husband about the allegations of sexually abusing children and shot him two times - once in the neck and once in the leg, according to her defense attorney. Prosecutors said her husband now uses a walker after having surgery on his leg.

Court filings show investigators found a notebook in the hotel room containing handwritten messages from Weems. She wrote, "I'm going to shoot, but not kill him," and "I want these kids to get justice." Police also found two firearms and shell casings in the room.

Weems expressed remorse on Friday for not allowing the police and courts to handle the situation.

"I wish I would have done things differently and allowed the people's system to handle the situation," Weems said.

Her defense attorney said that on the day of the shooting, a mother told Weems in her daycare's parking lot that James Weems had molested the mother's child.

Prosecutors said James Weems worked at the daycare for four years, including two as the bus driver.

The case drew national attention, and supporters of Weems packed the courtroom and virtual court during Friday's sentencing.

Fifty Seven-year-old James Weems is facing 33 charges of sexual abuse in Baltimore County. According to court records, his trial is set for May.