Longtime Seattle SuperSonics icon Shawn Kemp was charged with first-degree assault on Friday, stemming from a March taking pictures in a mall parking zone for which Kemp was briefly held in jail.
Kemp plans to plead not responsible, in response to his protection attorneys. He is scheduled to be arraigned May 4.
Kemp was arrested exterior the Tacoma Mall in Tacoma, Wash., on March 8 and was launched the subsequent day. At the time, legal professional Scott Boatman mentioned he anticipated the six-time NBA All-Star can be exonerated of all costs.
According to Kemp’s group, Kemp had his cellphone and different objects stolen from his car in March. Kemp was in a position to observe the telephone to a car within the shopping center parking zone.
Though the following confrontation was initially reported as a drive-by taking pictures, Kemp’s legal professional has argued that Kemp was shot at first and solely returned fireplace in self-defense.
However, prosecutors in Washington state imagine new proof exhibits that Kemp had intent to shoot the one who allegedly stole his telephone.
Police filed a possible trigger assertion in Pierce County Superior Court on Friday, saying a few of Kemp’s claims weren’t corroborated by the mall’s surveillance video footage and Kemp appeared to fireside into an occupied car first.
They additionally declare that Kemp despatched a textual content message simply 13 minutes earlier than reaching the mall that exposed his intent to do hurt.
“(Kemp) has been fully cooperative with the police and the prosecutor’s office throughout this process,” Boatman mentioned in an announcement to ESPN Friday. “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.”
