Shawn Kemp spared jail, given home monitoring and community service

Former NBA star Shawn Kemp was spared jail Friday in a Pierce County courtroom, receiving a sentence of 30 days of electronic home monitoring, a year of supervised release and 240 hours of community service for a second-degree assault conviction tied to a March 2023 incident in a Tacoma Mall parking lot. The judge allowed Kemp to serve the 30-day confinement at home, and prosecutors had sought a nine-month term. The ruling closes a case that has drawn broad attention given Kemp’s celebrated basketball career and ongoing business and community activities.

The case stemmed from Kemp’s account of tracking down two men after his cannabis business’s property was allegedly stolen from his vehicle. Kemp and his defenders argued the former Seattle Supersonics forward acted in self-defense after feeling he was shot at during the confrontation, while prosecutors maintained that the evidence did not prove he was shot at and that his response was excessive. Kemp ultimately pleaded guilty in May to a lesser charge of second-degree assault, replacing a former first-degree assault charge. The sentencing guidelines called for a possible three to nine months in jail, with prosecutors pressing...