Ex-MSU star Appling tries to pull back murder plea, gets sentenced to prison

Detroit — Former Michigan State University basketball player Keith Appling on Friday tried to retract his Feb. 13 guilty plea to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a relative, but a Wayne County Circuit judge rejected it.

Visiting Judge Michael Hathaway dismissed 31-year-old Appling's request to withdraw the plea he entered three weeks ago, when he admitted to the 2021 slaying of Clyde Edmonds, the 66-year-old husband of Appling's mother's cousin.

Appling, who wore a mask and had his hands cuffed behind his back throughout the 11-minute sentencing hearing, told the judge: "I would like to withdraw my plea; I didn't have a full understanding of what I was pleading to."

Hathaway replied that Appling had been given ample opportunity to express any misgivings when he pleaded guilty on Feb. 13.

"I don't know what was missing from your thought processes when you pleaded guilty," the judge said. "It appears to me your motion (to dismiss the plea) is nothing more than a ploy to delay the inevitable. The motion is denied. There's no basis for it."

The second degree murder and a felony firearm charges resulted in Hathaway sentencing Appling to 18 to 40 years in prison under a previously negotiated sentence agreement.

Relatives of the victim had been given an opportunity to address Appling during the sentencing, but no one accepted the offer. Other than court personnel, seven Wayne County Sheriff's deputies and media members, the sixth floor courtroom at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice was empty.

Edmonds was found dead at about 7:10 p.m. May 22, 2021, on the front lawn of a home in the 13000 block of Whitcomb Street in Detroit with multiple gunshot wounds, according to police.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor William Lawrence said during Appling's preliminary exam in 2021 that Edmonds' slaying was "cold blooded." Lawrence said there was no evidence Appling and Edmonds were fighting, though police initially said Appling may have had an argument with Edmonds over a handgun before the shooting.

Edmonds' wife, Cassandra, testified during a 2021 preliminary exam hearing that she saw Appling go toward the back of her home when he visited shortly before the shooting.

Edmonds' stepson, Timothy Williams, testified that he wrestled Clyde Edmonds' gun away from Appling shortly after he heard gunshots and found his stepfather wounded. Williams said Appling apologized to him and told him he loved him.

Appling's girlfriend, Natalie Brooks Bannister, was sentenced to a year and a half of probation for lying to a police officer. She originally was charged with accessory after the fact and a second count of lying to police, but those were dismissed as a part of a plea deal. Prosecutors said Brooks Bannister drove Appling from the shooting scene.

Appling at one time was close to getting drafted into the National Basketball Association but has since seen his prospects crumble after legal incidents.

Appling, a three-year-starter and former captain of the MSU basketball team, has faced several criminal charges since he left MSU's basketball team after playing there from 2010-14 and briefly playing in the NBA's G League as well as six games for the Orlando Magic in 2016.

Appling tried to revive his basketball career from 2018-2019, playing in Mexico, Argentina, Italy and the Dominican Republic. But in late 2020, he received an 18 month probation sentence after police found heroin in his vehicle during a traffic stop in Macomb County and had a parole violation when the 2021 shooting occurred. He was sentenced to a year in jail for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and resisting and obstructing police during a 2017 traffic stop on Detroit's east side.

ghunter@detroitnews.com