Shanteari Young became emotional as she headed to a halfway house for the appointment to remove her ankle monitor.

The entire visit on Dec. 17, 2025, lasted 10 minutes. When employees took off the device, she kept asking if she was really allowed to leave.

“When I got in my car, I started crying,” Young, 53, of Owings Mills, recalled in a recent interview. “Because it was just like, ‘I’m finally done.’”

It had been almost 3 1/2 years since she shot her then-husband, James Weems Jr., twice inside his hotel room in Washington, D.C., after learning of allegations that he sexually abused children at her business, Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center. He survived and was later arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a minor and related crimes.

Metropolitan Police arrested Young, who pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court to aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license. She was ordered to serve four years in prison — plus two years of supervised release — and finished the last part of her sentence in home confinement.

Now, Young is trying to move forward and does not dwell on what happened. She’s working at a residential recovery house and wants to advocate for children who’ve experienced sexual abuse.

“I want to show people that something catastrophic can happen to you, but you can rebuild and you can move on,” she said. “I’m trying to change this into a positive situation and help people.”

‘It was a little surreal’

Young served her sentence at FMC Lexington, a federal prison in Kentucky about 8 1/2 hours southwest of Baltimore.

She divorced her husband while incarcerated. The first time Young saw Weems after the shooting was in 2024 inside a courtroom in Baltimore County when she testified against him at trial.

“It was a little surreal,” Young said. “But I was so focused on doing what I was going to do.”

When Young arrived back at prison, she could not immediately use the phone. She said she later called her friend and business partner, Nicole Knox, who stated, “We got him.”

Weems, 60, of Randallstown, was found guilty in Baltimore County Circuit Court of multiple charges related to his sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl who attended the day care.

At sentencing, Circuit Judge Michael J. Finifter said he believed that Weems used his skills as a retired Baltimore Police officer to “perpetrate these heinous crimes.”

Weems had “nothing bad in his background on paper,” he said, and manipulated many people, including Young.

“Child sex abuse usually doesn’t occur with a lot of witnesses around. This is a crime that just doesn’t happen that way,” Finifter said. “I think that the public is in danger of this man if he is out in the community.”

Finifter then handed down the sentence: life in prison.

Prison will ‘humble you’

Since being released from prison, Young said she appreciates the small things in life.

Sleeping on a comfortable mattress. Changing the channel on the TV. Preparing a meal without having to heat up ingredients on a radiator.

Prison, she said, will “humble you.”

Young is now advocating for legislation that would require child care providers to complete specific training about the identification, prevention and reporting of abuse.

She’s friends with Del. Sean Stinnett, a Democrat from Baltimore, who introduced the bill.

They had met for lunch at Mt. Washington Tavern and caught up. Shanny, as family members and friends call Young, is a caring and loving person, Stinnett said.

“I definitely got the strong idea that she really wanted to take her sort of negative and make sure it turns into a positive in terms of doing this kind of advocacy and outreach,” Stinnett said.

In an email, Cherie Duvall-Jones, a spokesperson for the Maryland State Department of Education, said there is no separate training focused on sexual abuse.

But Duvall-Jones said the topic is covered in other mandatory trainings and noted that all child care staff members and providers are required under state law to report suspected abuse or neglect.

Young said she also wants to start a nonprofit to help children who’ve been sexually abused. She previously registered the name Opened Umbrellas 4 Lil Kidz LLC.

She’s also writing a book about her experience called “My Protector,” which she’s set a May deadline to finish.

What does the title mean? “Well,” she said, “you have to read the book.”

‘We don’t think she has clean hands’

The legal fallout from what happened is not over.

Young is named as a defendant in three pending lawsuits against Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center, which has since closed.

She said she believes the children should be compensated but feels like she’s being unfairly attacked in the complaints. The narrative has changed from “him being the villain to me being the villain,” she said.

But Josh Kahn, an attorney representing the mother of the girl who a jury found was sexually abused at the day care, alleged that Young knew her ex-husband had been addicted to pornography and allowed him to be around children without supervision.

“We don’t think she has clean hands, frankly,” Kahn said. “We think she is responsible. And ultimately, it’s going to be for a jury to decide.”

Young denies the allegations, noting her ex-husband even testified that he did not disclose his pornography addiction to her.

Meanwhile, Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center’s insurance company, Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co., is claiming the total amount of coverage is limited to $100,000.

Young said she does not want other people to make the same choices as she did and carry out vigilante justice. Her entire life, she said, changed in 72 hours.

At the same time, Young said, she has no regrets.