Shawn Kemp, a former N.B.A. star, has been charged with first-degree assault in Washington State, the place Pierce County prosecutors mentioned he was concerned in a taking pictures at a mall in Tacoma final month.
Kemp, 53, plans to plead not responsible, based on a press release by his legal protection legal professionals, Tim Leary and Aaron Kiviat. His arraignment is scheduled for Might 4.
“He has been totally cooperative with the police and the prosecutor’s workplace all through this course of,” Kemp’s legal professionals mentioned in a press release. “He’s assured that after the jury hears from the witnesses and sees the proof at trial, they may conclude that he was justified in defending himself that afternoon.”
On March 8, Tacoma law enforcement officials arrested Kemp after photographs had been fired in a car parking zone at Tacoma Mall round 2 p.m. He was launched from jail a day later, after the Pierce County Prosecuting Legal professional’s Workplace determined to not cost him instantly, pending an investigation. On the time, the police mentioned nobody was injured within the taking pictures.
On Friday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Kemp with first-degree assault with a firearms enhancement. In a charging doc launched by the prosecutor’s workplace, the police mentioned Kemp was seen on video surveillance footage leaving his automobile, eradicating one thing from inside a backpack and strolling towards one other car within the lot. The police mentioned they discovered a spherical the place he was standing by a automobile that had a “suspected bullet gap on the roof.”
In line with the police, footage confirmed Kemp pointing a gun at an occupied car; the police guessed that Kemp had fired on the car’s driver, who they mentioned could possibly be seen ducking within the video footage. The police mentioned that they discovered a gun within the car parking zone and that Kemp instructed them he had thrown a gun into the bushes.
Neither Leary nor Kiviat responded to particular questions in regards to the police’s model of occasions.
One other certainly one of Kemp’s legal professionals, W. Scott Boatman, mentioned final month in a press release to ESPN and The Related Press that Kemp had solely returned hearth after being shot at. Boatman mentioned Kemp’s automobile had been damaged into and several other of his gadgets had been stolen, main him to trace his iPhone to the car parking zone the place the incident occurred.
Boatman mentioned the folks within the car shot at Kemp after he confronted them and Kemp then fired again. Boatman known as Kemp’s actions “affordable and legally justified.”
In a charging doc for Kemp, the police mentioned they had been in a position to establish the driving force of the opposite car, however they have no idea the place that particular person is.
Kemp performed within the N.B.A. from 1989 to 2003 and was a six-time All-Star. He started his profession with the Seattle SuperSonics and in addition performed for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Portland Path Blazers and the Orlando Magic. Since his retirement, he has opened two hashish shops that bear his identify in Seattle, the place leisure marijuana use has been authorized since 2012.