Ex-MSU star Appling waives exam in Dearborn gun case

Former Michigan State University basketball standout Keith Appling waived his preliminary examination Wednesday on one of his Detroit gun cases.

His next court date is Oct. 12, where a trial date is expected to be set for the Aug. 28 incident in which Appling, also a former Detroit Pershing basketball star, is accused of fleeing police after a traffic stop on Detroit’s east side and possessing a gun.

Police say Appling drove off after a traffic stop and threw a bag out of his 2013 Dodge Challenger that contained a blue steel semi-automatic Beretta with 10 live rounds.

The August incident is the third such case involving accusations against Appling possessing a gun.

Appling was charged in Dearborn for an incident allegedly involving a weapon May 1 in the parking lot of the Pantheion Club on the 12900 block of Michigan. Officers found a handgun under the driver’s seat and a loaded weapon in the trunk after they were called by security on a report of a man pulling a gun out of the trunk of a car in the parking lot.

The next month, Detroit police arrested Appling after officers stopped a speeding vehicle. They saw Appling, a passenger, place a weapon under a seat and after searching the vehicle found a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson.

Appling’s attorney at the time said the gun belonged to a previous passenger in the vehicle.

Appling played for Michigan State from 2010-14, starting 132 games for the Spartans. He averaged 11.2 points and 4.5 assists as a senior. Appling played five games last season for the NBA’s Orlando Magic, spending most of the playing season with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA D-League.

Trial dates have been set for December and January for the June case out of Detroit and the Dearborn case.

bwilliams@detroitnews.com

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