Defense attorney Sebastian Joy, right, goes to embrace DJ Kemper after Kemper was ruled not guilty of first-degree assault in Boyd County Circuit Court. HENRY CULVYHOUSE | THE DAILY INDEPENDENT ASHLAND Former Ashland Blazer soccer player Dwayne âDJâ Kemper was found not guilty Wednesday in connection with a June 2020 shooting. Following a three-day trial in Boyd County Circuit Court, the jury of 11 women and one man returned a not guilty verdict to a sole count of first-degree assault. Deliberations took about an hour for the jury. Kemper was accused of shooting a 19-year-old woman in the face during a fight in the 1800 block of Blazer Boulevard around midnight on June 20, 2020. Previous testimony from Zachary McWhorter â who is currently facing a rape charge in Carter County â and Brandon Hansford, the two men fighting Kemper, placed the victim in the car. They also stated Kemper instigated the fight when they bumped into him following a drug deal out in front of the apartments. How the fight started was up to debate, as multiple versions of the event were told at trial.