Shawn Kemp recently made headlines after a video seemed to show the NBA legend firing a weapon outside of his vehicle. The alleged incident happened outside of a Tacoma, Washington, shopping mall. Kemp is now being charged with assault in the first degree over the incident in March. However, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski obtained a statement from Kemp’s lawyer Scott Boatman, saying Kemp will plea not guilty.
“Today, Shawn Kemp learned that the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office elected to file charges against him,” Boatman said in an official statement shared by Wojnarowski. “He will be entering a plea of not guilty at his upcoming arraignment. Kemp has been fully cooperative with the police and the prosecutor’s office throughout this process. He is confident that once the jury hears from the witnesses and sees the evidence at trial, they will conclude that he was justified in defending himself that afternoon. He has retained the law offices of Aaron Kiviat and Tim Leary to defend in these charges.”
Shawn Kemp Facing Criminal Charges
The incident took place on March 9th of this year. In a report by TMZ stated that witnesses told police that Kemp fired around 5 to 10 shots during the incident. However, sources close to Kemp claim the former NBA All-star was only acting in self-defense. As previously stated, a video of the incident began circulating around social media almost immediately. The video does show a man standing beside his vehicle. Also, you can hear the sound of the gun being fired by the man in the video.
Shawn Kemp is most well known for being one the most iconic dunkers in NBA history. The former Seattle Supersonics star would put opposing players on posters as a nightly routine. Kemp was a part of one NBA Finals run in Seattle. Ultimately, Kemp and the Supersonics would lose to the Chicago Bulls. Arguably the greatest Bulls team of Michael Jordan’s entire stint in Chicago. The NBA legend retired in 2003 as a member of the Orlando Magic. For more on the latest news in sports, keep it right here with HNHH.
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