Former MSU Player Keith Appling Bound Over For Trial On Gun Charge

DETROIT (WWJ) - Former Michigan State basketball star Keith Appling had been ordered to stand trial on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

Appling's defense attorney, Cyril Hall, said he's disappointed in and disagrees the judge's decision as well as with the alleged facts presented at a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Appling, his mother and a mentor were in court as two officers testified that Appling's brother Kenneth was pulled over for speeding in Detroit on June 18.

The brother, who has a concealed pistol license (CPL), only got a speeding ticket. However, the cops testified that they saw Appling, who was in the back seat, stuffing a gun and a holster in a white t-shirt behind a seat.

Hall disputes all of that — claiming that his client didn't even know that the gun was in the car.

"He (the officer) saw what appeared to be the handle of a gun," Hall told WWJ's Laura Bonnell and other reporters. "I take the position that that's not even sufficient basis to search a vehicle. But aside from that, I look at and question the wisdom of whether or not the butt of a gun would be protruding from a seat."

Police testified that Appling admitted that it was his gun but falsely claimed he had a CPL.

Hall, who doesn't believe his client said that, believes the gun in question belonged to another man.

"No question it was somebody's else's gun; and we know who else's gun it was, because that person had been in the car and got out of the car," Hall said. "That's part of the information that the judge...they didn't want to get into me asking the officers about did they check the gun to see who it was registered to."

Appling's next court appearance was set for Tuesday, Aug. 2.

In a separate case, Appling faces felony weapons and marijuana charges from a May arrest outside a Dearborn strip club.

Dearborn police found Appling at a club on Michigan Avenue after security said they saw him pull a gun from the trunk of a car in the parking lot.

After police found the gun in the car, along with some pot, Appling was arrested at the scene. Unconfirmed reports described the weapon as an AK-47.

Appling, who played for the Spartans from 2010 to 2014, is currently playing in the NBA's development league.