Former NBA star Shawn Kemp has learnt his fate after pleading guilty to second-degree assault relating to a shooting outside the Tacoma Mall in March 2023.
The legendary six-time NBA All-Star was accused by prosecutors of shooting at two people while attempting to retrieve items that were allegedly stolen from his car.
He initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea in May and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. However, the former basketball player will be allowed to serve the time at home, according to TMZ.
Kemp, who appeared in court in a navy suit jacket, tan pants, white shirt and light blue tie, reportedly looked ‘stoic’ as the Pierce County judge handed down the sentence.
The 55-year-old, who was supported by friends, including former NFL superstar Marshawn Lynch, during the sentence, told the court that he was ‘very apologetic’ for his behavior in the shooting.
‘I cannot state strongly enough this could have been easily avoided by simply walking away. Property is replaceable, human life is not,’ the judge said.
Former NBA star Shawn Kemp has been sentenced to 30 days in jail over a shooting
The legendary six-time NBA All-Star was accused by prosecutors of shooting at two people while attempting to retrieve items that were allegedly stolen from his car
Kemp was additionally sentenced to 12 months of community custody – which is a form of supervised release in Washington – and will also have to serve 240 hours of community service.
Prosecutors had been seeking a nine-month prison sentence for Kemp.
Kemp had initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree assault. He changed his plea to guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree assault.
No one was injured, and Kemp’s lawyers insisted he returned fire in self defense after tracking and trying to retrieve a cellphone that had been stolen from him earlier that day.
However, a probable cause statement by Tacoma police did not indicate Kemp was shot at.
It said some of his statements were not corroborated by surveillance video, and that just 13 minutes before he arrived at the mall, he sent a text message saying, ‘I’m about to shoot this (expletive).’
The document said Kemp told police that after being shot at he went back to his own vehicle, parked several spots away, to get his own gun.
But the video showed that he was armed with the weapon when he approached the parked Toyota 4Runner where he had tracked his phone.
Kemp looked ‘stoic’ as the Pierce County judge handed down the sentence
A Google Street View image shows the parking lot where the alleged drive-by occurred
Kemp is a legendary six-time NBA All-Star and played for Seattle Supersonics for eight years
The statement said he fired three times into the Toyota and then threw his gun into some bushes.
The driver of the 4Runner appeared to duck one of the shots and eventually drove off, it said.
Only about five minutes elapsed from the time Kemp arrived until the time the 4Runner left.
Kemp, who has two licensed cannabis stores in Seattle, played for the Seattle SuperSonics from 1989 to 1997. He also played for Cleveland, Portland and Orlando.
Kemp debuted in the NBA during the 1989-90 season as a 20-year-old who had never played college basketball. He became known for his high-flying dunks.
