Shawn Kemp’s identify has lengthy been synonymous with prodigious expertise, a ton of hassle and wasted alternative.
Now he’ll doubtless even be recognized for a jail sentence.
Kemp, 55, pleaded responsible to second-degree assault Tuesday for capturing at two males inside a automobile in a Tacoma, Wash., mall car parking zone. The plea was a part of an settlement in Pierce County Superior Courtroom during which prosecutors will suggest 9 months of confinement within the county jail when Kemp is sentenced in August.
Kemp was initially charged with one rely of first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement after the March 2003 capturing, and prosecutors final week added one other rely of assault in addition to a drive-by capturing cost. Nobody was damage however the Toyota 4Runner the lads have been inside and one other automobile have been broken.
Kemp contended in a court docket submitting that he fired in self-defense after one of many males shot at him. The 4Runner drove off earlier than Tacoma police arrived and and an empty holster was discovered contained in the automobile when it was found deserted days later.
“Shawn is committed to moving forward in a positive direction,” Kemp’s lawyer Tim Leary instructed the Seattle Instances. “He was presented with an offer from the state that allows him to take responsibility, but I think also recognizes the self-defense nature of how this transpired.”
Seattle SuperSonics’ Shawn Kemp stepping into for a dunk as Houston Rockets’ Hakeem Olajuwon (34) defends in the course of the second quarter of their NBA playoff recreation Might 5, 1997, in Houston.
(Pat Sullivan / AP)
Kemp famously battled cocaine dependancy and fathered not less than seven kids with six completely different girls throughout a 15-year NBA profession that started when he was 19 years previous in 1989.
Kemp was arrested in 2006 for drug possession in Washington, discovered with cocaine, marijuana, and a pistol.
Development has been halting, nevertheless, even for somebody who sprouted 13 inches between the ninth and eleventh grades, topping out at 6-foot-10. His weight ballooned throughout his profession from 230 kilos to greater than 300, but he remained able to dominating on the court docket.
That was way back, although. And on Tuesday in court docket, his lawyer defined that Kemp’s truck was damaged into on March 8, 2023, when he and different workers who labored at his marijuana dispensary, Kemp’s Hashish, have been attending a live performance in Seattle.
In line with court docket paperwork, Kemp’s cellphone and game-worn Kemp and Gary Payton jerseys have been among the many objects stolen. Kemp used a telephone monitoring app to search out the alleged thieves and confronted the driving force of the 4Runner in a Tacoma mall car parking zone.
A person within the again seat shot at Kemp with a handgun, in accordance with the submitting, and Kemp returned fireplace. The 4Runner fled, and when the automobile was discovered deserted days later, an empty holster was discovered inside however there was no gun, paperwork stated.
As a part of his plea, Kemp can’t possess a firearm. Along with the proposed nine-month sentence, Kemp will spend one 12 months in neighborhood custody and pay restitution.
“His plan is to tell the community about the dangers of gun violence, really to be a positive influence on youth,” Aaron Kiviat, one other of Kemp’s attorneys, instructed the Seattle Instances.
In an announcement outlining the plea settlement, Deputy Prosecuting Lawyer Thomas Howe stated that the case ought to be resolved forward of trial as a result of the 2 alleged victims have been illegally in possession of Kemp’s belongings.
Each alleged victims are presently serving jail sentences in different instances. One is serving a seven-year sentence, partly for a July 2023 capturing during which he mistook the sufferer for Kemp. The identical man not too long ago filed a civil go well with in opposition to Kemp stemming from the mall capturing.
Nicknamed the “Reign Man,” Kemp made $91,572,963 throughout his 15-year NBA profession that led to 2004. He was a six-time All-Star and helped the Seattle SuperSonics to the NBA finals in 1996 when he averaged a career-high 21.2 factors a recreation. Kemp additionally performed for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Path Blazers and Orlando Magic.
Kemp mirrored on the ups and downs of his profession on the All of the Smoke podcast with former NBA gamers Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, saying, “Going through some problems and stuff that I went through in my career also hurts you at the end. But I think when you look at the good side of it, and you compare the numbers and stuff, I’m right there with some of the best ones.”
