SEATTLE — Video-surveillance footage from a March shooting in the Tacoma Mall parking lot contradicts ex-Sonics star Shawn Kemp’s assertion he returned fire in self-defense as he tried to recover items stolen in an earlier car prowl, according to Pierce County prosecutors.
Kemp, 53, was charged Friday with first-degree assault, accused of shooting three rounds from a .357 revolver into a parked SUV after tracking a stolen cellphone to the vehicle, charging papers say. Prosecutors also charged a firearm enhancement which, if proven, would add a mandatory five years to any potential prison sentence.
The six-time All Star was arrested at the scene March 8 but was released from jail the next day while Tacoma police investigated the shooting. In consultation with Kemp’s defense attorneys, prosecutors decided to issue a summons for Kemp to appear in Pierce County Superior Court for arraignment May 4, said Adam Faber, a spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
