Keith Appling gun case bound over for Oct. 12 pretrial

Former Michigan State basketball player Keith Appling voluntarily waived his right to a preliminary examination for the most recent gun case against him today at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice downtown.

The case was bound over for further disposition and will proceed to a pretrial at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 12 in Wayne County Circuit Court. A judge then will decide whether the case goes to trial.

Appling's lawyer, Otis Culpepper, said doing so was the first step in getting his client back on the basketball court this upcoming season.

"My plan from the beginning was to get this young man to a position where we can get him back to work," Culpepper told the Free Press outside the courtroom. "I'm as positive as anything that this is all abhorrent behavior for a young man, and I'm going to do everything that we can just to get his life back in order."

The case stems from an Aug. 28 incident when Detroit police stopped Appling, 24, for a traffic violation while he was in the area of 7 Mile and Russell around 9:15 p.m. A police officer reached into Appling's vehicle to get his identification, and then Appling allegedly drove off while the officer's hand was still inside.

The police said Appling, 24, then threw a Gucci bag from his car. Police later retrieved the bag near the area of the traffic stop and found a handgun inside as well as Appling's name imprinted on the bag.

Police arrested him, and he was later charged with four felonies, including two separate gun charges, fleeing police and assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer.

"Officers do good work, but sometimes they a little overzealous, and I think that's what happened here," Culpepper said.

The court ordered Appling to stay away from guns and assigned him to wear a GPS tether and be home from the hours of 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. each night.

The Aug. 28 arrest marked Appling's third since last spring.

Police arrested him around 6:47 p.m. May 1 in the Pantheon Club parking lot located on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle and possession of marijuana.

He also was arrested during a June 18 traffic stop and charged with having a concealed weapon in his vehicle.

Trial dates have been set for those two cases: The first starts Dec. 14 and the second Jan. 11 in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice.

Culpepper said Appling, who played at MSU in 2010-14 and was a standout at Detroit Pershing, has contract offers to play professionally overseas, but he can't sign until his court cases are settled.

Appling most recently played for the Orlando Magic and its NBA D-League affiliate, the Erie Bayhawks, last season. Culpepper said NBA teams currently don't have any interest in signing the 6-foot-1 guard.

"He's training, and there are contracts out there for him, but we have to settle this thing here before he (can sign with a team)," Culpepper said. "They're pro (contracts). It's not the NBA, but it's Europe."

Culpepper said his goal is to get Appling back on the court soon.

Until then, the former Michigan Mr. Basketball winner will train locally and receive the support of family and friends.

"I really hope (he gets back to playing professionally again)," Culpepper said. "We'll have to see. We have to sort this out. If we're able to successfully sort this out, then yes, (he'll return to basketball)."

"He's doing well. He's got a lot of family support."