Former Michigan State basketball player Keith Appling pleaded guilty to a lesser count of second-degree murder on Monday, the day his trial was to begin in the May 2021 shooting death of a family member.
He also pleaded guilty to one felony firearm charge.
Appling, who turned 31 on Monday, was charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Clyde Edmonds on May 22, 2021.
As part of the plea, Appling will be sentenced to 18 to 40 years in prison, plus an additional two years on the firearm charge. He was originally charged with one felony count of possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm.
Appling will be sentenced March 3. Two of the firearm charges — as well as the first-degree murder charge — will be dismissed at that hearing.
Appling averaged 10.6 points per game in 142 games (124 starts) for Michigan State from 2010-14. He was not drafted by an NBA team but did play five games with the Orlando Magic during the 2015-16 season, scoring six total points over 27 minutes of five games, while also playing in the G League as well as internationally.
“It is always tragic when one with so much promise, talent, and possibility is alleged to have committed the most serious of crimes,” Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy said.
Appling shot Edmonds multiple times after the pair argued over a handgun. Appling fled the scene and Edmonds, a distant relative, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Appling served prison time once before on gun charges, having been arrested three times in 2016. He also served probation on a drug charge in 2020. Appling also faces assault and firearms charges in Jackson, Miss., over a May 2021 shooting.
–Field Level Media