Keith Appling, the former MSU star, has been arrested three times for having a gun.
Keith Appling seems to have had a run of bad luck when it comes to guns and the police. Well, maybe bad luck isn’t quite right. Stupidity seems more appropriate. Back in 2015 he was arrested no less than three times for gun-related crimes. Appling, the 25-year-old former Michigan State University basketball star, was arrested for the first time outside the Pantheon Club, which is a strip club in Dearborn, MI. Club security personnel claim to have seen Appling pull an AK-47 from the trunk of his vehicle. The incident was reported to police in Wayne County. They arrived at the club and approached Appling.
Police officers searched his vehicle and found a handgun under the front seat, a loaded weapon in the trunk of the car, and also a small amount of what they suspected was marijuana. Appling was arrested and charged with Carrying a Concealed Weapon, which is a five-year felony; Possession of a Loaded Firearm in a Vehicle, which is a two-year high court misdemeanor (which is treated like a felony); and Possession of Marijuana.
Just days before Appling was due to appear in court for his preliminary hearing on that first criminal case, he was arrested again. Did we mention stupidity yet? This time, he was the passenger in his brother’s vehicle. Cops pulled the car over for speeding but a police officer claimed to have seen Appling place a weapon under the seat as police were approaching the vehicle. Again the car was searched, and again a weapon was found. Once again, Appling was charged with Carrying a Concealed Weapon.
That, however, wasn’t the end of it. According to police records, an officer observed a 2013 blue Dodge Charger committing a traffic offense on the night of August 28, 2017 in Detroit, and pulled the vehicle over. As he approached the car, the officer said he could smell a strong odor of marijuana. He asked Appling, who was behind the wheel at the time, for his license and registration. But as Appling passed the officer the documents, he allegedly rolled up the window and drove away.
Police chased the vehicle and finally stopped it on Detroit’s east side.
Appling was arrested, though he was still out on bond for his first two sets of charges. When the car was searched, the officer who had initially pulled Appling over said that he had noted a Gucci bag on the passenger seat of the car. That bag was now missing, so officers searched the entire length of the chase area, and found the bag on the side of the road. Inside, officers found paperwork containing Appling’s name, and a semi-automatic Beretta loaded with ten rounds of ammunition.
The result of all this is three sets of gun-related charges. According to court records, Appling plead guilty to Carrying a Concealed Weapon and Resisting Police in the Wayne County Circuit Court at the beginning of the week. According to a statement made by the Assistant Prosecutor, the plea “includes a sentence agreement of five years’ probation with the first year being served in the Wayne County Jail. The agreement does not include early release. Sentencing will be held Aug. 3.”
In addition, Appling is still facing two other sets of charges in Dearborn and Detroit. Weapons related charges are taken very seriously by judges and prosecutors alike all over Michigan. Many weapons charges carry mandatory prison time. As such, they need to be defended by an expert criminal defense attorney with decades of experience handling gun charges. The attorneys at The Kronzek Firm have successfully represented people accused of weapons-related crimes for many years, and have a high rate of success. So if you or a loved one have been accused of carrying, discharging, possessing or selling weapons, contact us immediately at 866-766-5245. We can help you.