Keith Appling, the 24-year-old former Michigan State University basketball star is having a very rough year. He has now been arrested a total of three times since May of this year, all three times for weapons related charges.
According to police records, an officer observed a 2013 blue Dodge Charger committing a traffic offense on Sunday night in Detroit and pulled the vehicle over. As he approached the car, the police officer said that he could smell a very strong odor of marijuana. He asked the driver for his license and registration. But as the documents were passed towards him, the driver allegedly rolled up the window and drove away.
Police chased the vehicle and finally stopped it on Detroit’s east side. The driver, who was none other than the much maligned Spartan basketball player Keith Appling, was arrested. This third set of charges is alleged to have occurred while Appling was 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.
Officers find Beretta gun alongside road
Officers retraced their steps, searching the entire length of the chase, and found the bag on the side of the road. Inside the bag officers found paperwork that contained Appling’s name, along with a gun. The gun is listed as a semi-automatic Beretta, and it was loaded with ten rounds of ammunition.
This is Appling’s third arrest in less than six months. In May he was arrested outside the Pantheon Club, which is a strip club in Dearborn, MI. Club security personnel allegedly saw Appling pull an AK-47 from the trunk of his vehicle. A police search of the vehicle revealed a handgun under the front seat, a loaded weapon in the trunk, and a small amount of 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; and Possession of Marijuana. But the very next month Appling was arrested again, this time for similar reasons.
The second arrest took place in June. Appling was a passenger in his brother’s car when an officer pulled them over for speeding and observed Appling trying to hide a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson under a car seat. He was again arrested and charged with carrying a Concealed Weapon in a Motor Vehicle.
This second offense is alleged to have occurred while Appling was out on bond for his first set of charges. Our criminal defense attorneys say that under Michigan law, an offense that is committed while a defendant is out on bond can cause the judge to use consecutive sentencing rather than concurrent sentencing in a case.
Appling was scheduled to appear in court this week for the two prior sets of charges. The most recent developments are unlikely to help his case, however, and may result in the Judge denying him bail, given his history of repeat offenses. For now, Appling is facing many years in prison with the Michigan Department of Corrections. We will keep watching this story as it develops, and keep you updated.