AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Former Michigan State basketball player
Keith Appling pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge
during an arraignment hearing Thursday, but he was ordered to remain
in jail.
The Associated Press reported Friday that defense
attorney Andrew Abood requested bond for Appling, who’s accused of
killing Clyde Edmonds during a May 22 dispute in Detroit, but that
motion was denied by the magistrate.
Appling, 29, allegedly confronted Edmonds, 66, about a handgun, and Edwards was
later found with multiple gunshot wounds on his front lawn May 22. He
was pronounced dead at a local hospital, per Oralandar Brand-Williams
of the Detroit News.
Police said Edmonds’ wife is the first cousin of Appling’s mother.
Natalie Brooks Bannister, Appling’s
girlfriend, allegedly drove the getaway car and later failed to “tell
police the truth” about what happened, according to the Wayne
County Prosecutor’s Office. She’s been charged with accessory after
the fact and lying to a peace officer. She’s also pleaded not guilty.
Both Appling and Bannister have been
ordered to have no contact with each other.
Appling, who also faces charges of
felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm, is
due back in court June 22 for a probable cause conference and June 29
for preliminary examination, per Brand-Williams.
The Detroit native was a standout guard at
Pershing High School in his hometown before becoming a four-year starter
at Michigan State. He went undrafted in 2014 but spent time playing
professionally in the NBA and the G League along with stops in
Mexico, Italy and the Dominican Republic.
Derick Hutchinson of Click On Detroit
noted Appling was previously sentenced to one year in jail in 2017
for carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest, and he was
sentenced to 18 months’ probation in 2018 after officers found heroin
in his vehicle.
Appling has also been charged with an assault May 2 in Jackson County, Michigan.
Further details about that case haven’t been publicly released.