August 24, 2025
In addition to the house arrest, Kemp is required to serve one year of state Department of Corrections supervision and complete 240 hours of community service.
On Aug. 22, former NBA star Shawn Kemp was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest for a March 2023 incident in which he fired a gun at two men he claimed were attempting to steal his truck, cellphone, and memorabilia.
According to CBS News, in addition to the house arrest, Kemp is required to serve one year of state Department of Corrections supervision and complete 240 hours of community service. Initially, prosecutors recommended that Kemp be sentenced to nine months in jail, a year of supervision, and be required to pay restitution to the men he shot at.
However, in the estimation of Judge Michael Schwartz of Pierce County Superior Court, the circumstances of Kemp’s crime did not quite meet the level of those recommendations from the state prosecutors, and he wished for the 55-year-old Kemp to avoid incarceration.
Upon receiving his sentence from the judge, Kemp, who agreed to plead guilty to assault in May as part of a plea deal, was visibly relieved breathing a sigh of relief and making the sign of the cross across his chest multiple times.
According to the trial brief, Kemp used a phone tracking app to locate and briefly talk to one of the men who was driving a Toyota 4Runner in circles around the parking lot of a casino. The men later dumped out some of Kemp’s possessions but kept the phone in the vehicle.
Kemp later used the phone tracking app to discover that his phone was near the Tacoma Mall, and upon arriving, he then discovered the same vehicle, and per the court documents “expressed his understandable frustration” with the driver, when another man in the backseat of the vehicle fired at Kemp, when, per the brief, he “returned fire and attempted to disable the Toyota. It did not work.”
The man driving the 4Runner fled, and a few days later the vehicle was found abandoned with an empty holster inside, but no gun. In an interview following the hearing, the six-time All Star told reporters that “the last three years have been tough,” and indicated that he wanted to become an advocate for the prevention of gun violence, particularly among youth.
“Think twice. Think twice when you get mad. Think twice when you get a little upset,” Kemp noted.
According to The Seattle Times, Kemp’s defense attorney, Timothy Leary wrote in a sentencing memo that Kemp is remorseful.
“He understands and appreciates that he could have and should have conducted himself differently that afternoon in the Tacoma Mall parking lot. However, the public scorn, disappointment, embarrassment and personal shame weighs heavy on Mr. Kemp. That punishment lasts much longer than any jail sentence,” Leary stated.
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