The man whose wife allegedly shot him and claimed he had been sexually abusing children at her Maryland day care now faces multiple charges.
The Baltimore County, Maryland, police said in a statement that they began investigating James Weems Jr., 57, of Randallstown, Maryland, earlier this month after they were notified of the alleged abuse of “at least three children while working at a day care facility located in Owings Mills.”
The statement says he faces multiple charges but it does not specify what they are.
Shanteari Weems, 50, was arrested last week at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Southwest D.C. after police said she shot her husband in the head and leg. She runs Lil Kidz Kastle day care in Owings Mills.
She has been charged with assault with intent to kill and gun-related counts and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday. She’s being held without bond.
Baltimore County police said they began investigating James Weems earlier this month after they were notified of the alleged abuse. The news release says he faces multiple charges but it does not specify what they are.
James Weems remains hospitalized in D.C., but is expected to be extradited back to Baltimore County.
Police were called to the D.C. hotel about 7:40 p.m. Thursday responding to reports a man had been shot on the eighth floor.
Through the closed hotel room door, police negotiated with Shanteari Weems who, at first, refused to come out of the room. She told officers her husband is a retired Baltimore City police officer, threatened to shoot herself and at one point, said of her husband, “F— him, he’s a child molester,” according to court documents.
Shanteari Weems eventually surrendered. Police found a gun in her purse and another in a locked safe and handwritten notes and papers, including a letter containing an apology to her “babies,” stating, “I didn’t know.”
In an interview with detectives, Shanteari Weems said she had been told by children, parents and teachers that her husband had been molesting children at the day care.
Baltimore County detectives said they are continuing to work closely with detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department as well as members of the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Maryland State Department of Education and the Maryland Department of Human Services, Child Protective Services.
A spokesperson for the Baltimore police tells WTOP that James Weems Jr. retired from the department in 2005 and continued to work as a contract specialist for the department until 2008.
Families can call Baltimore County detectives at 410-307-2020.
