A judge has denied Shanteari Weems bond. The business owner admitted to shooting her husband, James Weems Jr., after allegations of him being a child molester surfaced over a week ago.
On Friday (July 30), a Washington D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Sherry Trafford said there was probable cause that Shanteari brought a gun to the hotel with the intent of harming her husband of five years, CBS affiliate WUSA-9 reported. “Whatever decision-making process Ms. Weems was engaging in gives me great concern regarding her ability to make decisions rationally, in a way that protects the community and individuals around her,” said Trafford.
Shanteari is the owner of Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center where at least three children told their parents that Jason had molested them. Shanteari told authorities she learned of the allegations after the parents contacted her. The couple’s turmoil that landed Shanteari behind bars unfolded inside a room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the nation’s capitol on July 21.
Shanteari told authorities that after learning about her husband’s alleged misdeeds, she confronted him inside the hotel room. She claimed that Jason became enraged, stood up, and began to move towards her when she fired her weapon. Her husband sustained a gunshot wound to the neck and thigh. Matters grew worse when Shanteari barricaded herself in the room for over an hour despite officers beckoning for her to come out.
After an hour-long standoff, Shanteari was taken into custody where she detailed her plans to hurt her husband, and then to kill herself after learning of the alleged molestation. She was charged with assault with intent to kill and other gun offenses. Jason is a retired Baltimore City police officer. For the last two years, he has worked at the Owning Mills daycare as a bus driver. As previously reported by REVOLT, the retired cop is facing 13 child abuse claims, including first and second-degree sex offenses.
Weems’ attorney, Tony Garcia, said his client acted in self-defense. “She went down there asking him what happened. He went from zero to 1,000. He came at her and she defended herself,” Garcia said. “This is somebody who has lived her entire life obeying the law, helping others, and most of all raising and protecting children,” he added. Online, Shanteari is being heralded a hero.