Shawn Kemp, the former NBA star, involved in a shooting in Washington with criminals who had stolen a cell phone

Shawn Kemp he is a true legend in the NBA universe. With 14 seasons in the elite, she mostly wears the jersey of Seattle Supersonicsthis forward was one of the great protagonists of the golden era of the American league in the first half of the 90s and It reached its peak in 1996, when it played (and lost) the finals against the powerful Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan and company. In his long and successful career, this man who had extraordinary jumping ability and who formed one of the most fruitful duos of the time with Gary Payton, billed more than 90 million dollars. However, his life off the pitch was always under scrutiny due to extra-sports problems.

These days his name returned to the headlines of the portals when he was detained by the Tacoma (Washington) police, after being involved in a shooting in a parking lot in which there were no injuries to regret. According to the US media, Kemp, 53, went to that place after suffering the theft of a cell phone. Based on the geolocation of the device, the former basketball player found the thieves in the parking lot of a shopping center and, after being shot, answered with his weapon towards the criminal’s vehicle. Following the shooting, Kemp was detained by police, but released the next day.

After learning the facts, prosecutors decided not to file charges against the former NBA star and ordered his release. Scott Boatman, Kemp’s attorney, explained that his client had “reasonable and legal justification” for firing the gun in the parking lot, alleging that criminals fired at him first.

For several years now, Kemp has built a business around marijuana, which became legal in 2012 in Washington State. He is NBA owns several dispensaries in Seattle, where he offers more than 3000 products. The first opened its doors in 2020 and the second did so in mid-February. The walls of the business are decorated with murals of the player himself, who wore the number 40 on his jersey, along with photos of Payton, Bruce Lee and Jimi Hendrix. Kemp is one of the few African-Americans in Washington who owns the dispensary’s operating licenses. Only 4% of the 1,000 that exist are from black businessmen.

THE NATION