Ex-MSU Hoops Star Keith Appling Faces Weapons Charges

Updated at 4:21 p.m.

DEARBORN, MI – Former Michigan State University basketball star and current NBA player Keith Appling was arraigned Wednesday on a felony gun charge and two misdemeanor charges after he allegedly pulled a loaded gun from his vehicle in the parking lot of a Dearborn strip club Sunday evening.

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In a statement, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Appling, 24, of Detroit, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a five-year felony; possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle, a two-year misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, a one-year misdemeanor.

Dearborn police were called to the strip club in the 12900 block of Michigan Avenue about 6:47 p.m. Sunday after a security guard reported seeing a man pull the gun from the trunk of his vehicle.

When police questioned Appling and searched his car, they found a handgun under the driver’s seat, a small amount of suspected marijuana and a loaded weapon in the truck, the prosecutor’s office said.

He was arrested at the scene.

Dearborn 19th District Court Judge William Hultgren gave Appling a $5,000 personal bond. His probable cause conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, also in 19th District Court.

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a statement that due to a “concerned citizen’s willingness to get involved we were able to remove guns and illegal drugs from the streets of Dearborn.”