The Shawn Kemp sentence: He says his truck and cellphone were stolen and he returned fire at the thieves. Nobody was hurt but he’s under electronic home monitoring

Law·WashingtonThe Shawn Kemp sentence: He says his truck and cellphone were stolen and he returned fire at the thieves

Ivy Ceballo/The Seattle Times via APFormer NBA star Shawn Kemp was sentenced Friday to 30 days of electronic monitoring for shooting at two men inside a vehicle in a Washington state mall parking lot

Kemp must begin monitoring within two weeks, The Seattle Times reported

Judge Michael Schwartz of Pierce County Superior Court found the circumstances surrounding the crime warranted a lesser sentence, allowing Kemp to avoid incarceration

Kemp looked at the ceiling and blew a huff of air when Schwartz announced the sentence

He then repeatedly made the sign of the cross with his hand

Kemp said he acted in self-defense and returned fire after one of the men shot at him from inside their Toyota 4Runner vehicle

The defense also claimed that the two men Kemp shot at voked the shooting by stealing Kemp’s truck, his cellphone and memorabilia in Seattle

Using a phone-tracking app, Kemp located and briefly tried to talk to the driver of the 4Runner that was circling a casino parking lot, according to the trial brief

The men in the vehicle afterward dumped some of Kemp’s belongings but hung on to the phone, the brief says

Kemp later saw his phone was near the Tacoma Mall

He drove there, spotted the same 4Runner and “expressed his understandable frustration” with the driver, according to the brief

The man in the back seat “fired off a round from a handgun at Mr

Kemp returned fire and attempted to disable the Toyota

It did not work,” the document said

The 4Runner fled, and when the vehicle was found abandoned days later, an empty holster was found inside but there was no gun, according to court documents

After the hearing, Kemp said in an interview that “the last three years have been tough.” He said he plans to be an advocate against gun violence, especially among youth. “Think twice,” he said. “Think twice when you get mad

Think twice when you get a little upset.” Several people sent letters of support to the court on Kemp’s behalf. 30 people att the hearing, including his pastor and former NFL star Marshawn Lynch

He also played for Cleveland, Portland and Orlando and was known for his high-flying dunks

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