Ex-NBA star Shawn Kemp pleads guilty as trial begins for Tacoma shooting
Former NBA Seattle SuperSonics star Shawn Kemp pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree assault for shooting at an occupied car outside the Tacoma Mall after he’d tracked his stolen cell phone to the parking lot.
The guilty plea came just as his trial was expected to begin Tuesday with jury selection.
Kemp, 55, was initially charged with first-degree assault for the March 8, 2023 shooting. Last week prosecutors brought an additional first-degree assault charge against him and a charge of drive-by shooting, according to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
When prosecutors first brought criminal charges against Kemp, they weren’t aware that there were two people in the Toyota 4Runner that Kemp had fired upon. Police said neither of the two men in the vehicle were hurt.
Kemp had tracked his iPhone to the car he shot at after his vehicle was broken into the night before in Seattle, according to court records.
His defense attorneys contended in a trial memorandum that when he approached the vehicle one of the occupants shot at him, and Kemp returned fire in self defense. Prosecutors had disputed that, saying video evidence didn’t back up Kemp’s account of what happened.
The 4Runner, which had been stolen, was recovered in Federal Way days later, and a forensic analysis later found it had been struck by three bullets.
One of Kemp’s defense attorneys, Tim Leary, said in a written statement that Kemp was committed to moving forward in a positive direction, and the offer from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office allowed him to take responsibility but also recognized the self-defense aspect of how this incident transpired. He said the agreement allowed Kemp to ask for a sentence that included no jail time based on the actions of the men in the 4Runner.
“Shawn has learned a tremendous amount throughout this process,” Leary said. “In the months and years ahead, he will continue to dedicate himself to advocating for youths in the community and also speak to the impacts of his decisions that he made in this incident.”
A sentencing hearing was set for Aug. 22. Kemp will remain out of custody in the meantime.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Thomas Howe wrote in a court filing that the difference between first- and second-degree assault is whether prosecutors could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Kemp intended to inflict serious bodily harm when he fired the gunshots.
Multiple facts weighed in favor of resolving the case short of trial, Howe said. He said 33 seconds of the encounter was not on video, two necessary witnesses had significant histories of crimes of dishonesty and those people were illegally in possession of Kemp’s property.
In the defense’s trial memo, Kemp’s attorneys said his property was stolen during a “night of celebration” for Kemp and a number of his employees at Showbox Sodo, a concert venue. A window of his truck was broken, and items were taken including jerseys worn by Kemp and fellow former SuperSonics player Gary Payton, which were to be auctioned off at a charity fundraiser. Also stolen were the keys to Kemp’s business, an employee’s purse and Kemp’s cell phone.
Of the initial decision to charge Kemp, Howe wrote that surveillance video and consistent information from other sources indicated Kemp fired more than one round with a .357 magnum revolver from close range.
“Mr. Kemp made conflicting statements about both his actions and the actions of the people in the automobile,” Howe said. “Mr. Kemp’s demeanor as he approaches the vehicle is far more consistent with someone who is angry [than] with someone who was just shot at.”
Kemp’s guilty plea to the lesser assault charge means he’ll face much less possible jail time. The standard sentencing range for second-degree assault for someone with an offender score of zero is three to nine months in jail.
He would have been facing years in prison if he had been convicted of the first-degree assault charges. Firearm sentencing enhancements alone would have added 10 years.
Defense wanted to dig into victims’ drug use, bias
Defense attorneys for Kemp, Tim Leary and Aaron Kiviat, sought to admit evidence at trial exposing the unsavory backgrounds of the men Kemp was accused of assaulting, including their drug use and motivations for trying to cooperate in this case.
At the same time, the attorneys appeared to want to highlight Kemp’s good deeds in the community since his retirement from the NBA. In a trial memo, the attorneys described the events of March 8, 2023, as a collision of worlds between an “icon” and two men who “prey on others and feed their addictions.”
One of the men, 39-year-old Dajuan Jackson, is currently incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center near Shelton, and earlier this year he sued Kemp seeking damages for emotional distress from the shooting at the Tacoma Mall. Leary wrote that Jackson was seeking a minimum of $250,000 from Kemp. The civil case was stayed earlier this month until 30 days after the resolution of the criminal case.
Of Jackson’s criminal history, perhaps most relevant to Kemp’s case is Jackson’s conviction for drive-by shooting in King County in an incident that occurred about four months after his encounter with Kemp in Tacoma.
While pumping gas at a gas station in Renton, Jackson donned a face covering, approached another car and shot a man inside three times. According to Leary’s trial memo, when Jackson was shown surveillance images during a defense interview, he said he was running away from Kemp.
Jackson confirmed in a follow-up question that he thought Kemp was at the gas station, then began to backtrack, according to Leary. Jackson was later sentenced to more than seven years in prison for the Renton shooting.
“Jackson’s reasoning for the shooting, he thought it was Shawn Kemp, while illogical, would be the second time he or an accomplice attempted to kill Shawn Kemp,” Leary wrote.
Jackson’s defense attorney in the drive-by described how Jackson had a long criminal history — 49 convictions, according to Leary — but it was mostly nonviolent until 2022, and he attributed the shift to substance abuse.
At the time of the Tacoma Mall incident, Jackson reported that he and the other man in the 4Runner had been using methamphetamine continuously. According to Leary, Jackson explained that they targeted Kemp’s vehicle the night before because they wanted to go to Tacoma, but they had no money for gas, so they turned to vehicle prowling.
Judge Michael Schwartz issued rulings Tuesday on what evidence would be allowed at trial, granting the defense’s motion to admit evidence of the victims’ drug use within 24 hours of the incident. Schwartz reserved a ruling on whether to allow evidence related to the victims’ bias and other bad acts.
What does surveillance video of shooting show?
Kemp stayed at the scene of the shooting in the 4500 block of South Steele Street, and the driver of the car he shot at drove off. He was arrested by the Tacoma Police Department and released from custody a day later after prosecutors requested further investigation.
Surveillance video allegedly showed Kemp arriving in a Porsche, leaving his car, retrieving a small bag inside a backpack and walking toward the 4Runner SUV with the revolver.
A detective’s summary of the video said Kemp stopped behind a silver car next to the 4Runner, and it noted a live round for the revolver was found nearby. The 4Runner reversed, and its open driver’s side door became lodged against an adjacent vehicle.
Kemp walked to the front of the 4Runner, according to the detective’s summary, and he fired a shot into its hood. As the vehicle began to smoke, Kemp walked back toward his car. He walked back and forth between the vehicles one more time, then opened his Porche’s trunk. A search of his car later found an “AR-15 style pistol” in the trunk with no ammunition.
At about the same time Kemp opened the trunk, the 4Runner successfully reversed out of its parking spot. Kemp walked back toward the vehicle. Video reportedly showed him drop his revolver, then pick it up again. The detective wrote that Kemp and the driver of the 4Runner appeared to be arguing.
Kemp pointed his revolver at the vehicle, and video showed the driver ducking. The driver got out facing Kemp and raised his hands in the air. Kemp walked back to his Porsche, then approached the 4Runner one more time before the driver drove off.
This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
