DETROIT (WWJ) -- A former Michigan State University basketball player pleaded guilty to reduced charges Monday after shooting and killing his mother's cousin in May 2021.
Keith Appling, 31, of Detroit was charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Clyde Edmonds, 66, also of Detroit. Edmonds was a member of Appling's mother's extended family.
Detroit police responded to reports of a shooting on the evening of May 22, 2021, and found Edmonds lying on the front lawn of the home, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics transported the victim to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities believe Appling and Edmonds were involved in an argument about the handgun when the defendant fired several shots, then fled.
Appling's girlfriend, Natalie Brooks Bannister, 30, of Jackson, was later accused of driving Appling away after the shooting. She was charged with accessory after the fact and lying to police, but eventually pleaded down to just the lying charge. She was sentenced to a year in prison and six months probation in July 2022.
The current defendant was charged in June 2022 and faced one count of first-degree murder, one count of felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm.
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During Monday's hearing, Appling pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge based on a sentencing agreement, where he will spend between 18 and 40 years in prison along with two years for felony firearm. The felon in possession charge will be dismissed.
At Appling's arraignment, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said, "It has been clear that this man has been spiraling downward for some time."
"Many of those that tried to intervene with this defendant were hoping that he would get on the right track and stay there," said Worthy. "It is always tragic when one with so much promise, talent, and possibility is alleged to have committed the most serious of crimes."
Appling is scheduled for a sentence hearing on March 3, 2023.
The Detroit Pershing graduate played basketball at MSU from 2010 to 2014 and was the team’s leading scorer heading into his junior year. After graduation, he signed two short-lived contracts with the Orlando Magic.
Appling served 18 months probation for drug charges in 2020. Before that, he was sentenced to a year in prison for carrying concealed weapons and resisting arrest.
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