TACOMA, Wash. — Former Seattle SuperSonics star Shawn Kemp pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing Thursday morning after he was charged with first-degree assault in connection with a shooting at Tacoma Mall in March.
Kemp will be released without bail on his own recognizance with bail only being discussed if he misses a court date.
Kemp was initially arrested at the scene on March 8 but was released the next day pending further investigation.
Police said officers responded to the shooting following an altercation between two groups of people at the Tacoma Mall around 2 p.m. on March 8.
According to court documents, police recovered a .357 caliber revolver that a witness said was discarded in bushes near a store at the mall. The witness reportedly shared a video with police that showed a man, identified as Kemp, firing shots.
Kemp was interviewed by investigators and reportedly said a cellphone was taken from his vehicle earlier in the day. Kemp said he was able to ping the location of the stolen cellphone and tracked it to a location in Fife.
According to the documents, Kemp made contact with people in an SUV at the tracked location and asked them if they had the cellphone before the SUV left the area.
Kemp told police he pinged the location of the cellphone again and tracked it to the Tacoma Mall parking lot. Kemp said he parked near an SUV he recognized from earlier and approached it. He said he demanded the driver give his property back. At this time, the rear passenger window came down and a single shot was fired, according to Kemp’s statement.
Kemp said he “retreated” to his vehicle after he was shot at in the Tacoma Mall parking lot and returned fire.
A detective noted in the court documents that Kemp’s statements “were not corroborated” by surveillance video. Police said surveillance video showed Kemp getting the revolver that was later recovered out of his backpack as soon as he left his vehicle to confront the driver of the SUV.
The SUV is seen fleeing the area in the surveillance video, according to police. They said it was recovered days later and had been stolen. Police said there is a person of interest.
When Kemp was detained at the mall, detectives recovered Kemp’s cell phone, which Kemp had on him. Police said there were a series of text messages that Kemp had gotten his stolen keys back from a woman who found them and that Kemp found his phone. Thirteen minutes before Kemp arrived at the Tacoma Mall, police said he sent a message reading, “I’m about to shoot this [expletive].”