#Socialites, this is crazy. Former Michigan State men’s basketball star Keith Damon Appling is facing up to 40 years in prison following his guilty plea in connection to a fatal shooting case.
According to a recent ESPN report, Appling, 31, pleaded guilty to charges including one count of second-degree murder and one count of felony firearm. The charges stem from Appling’s accused involvement in the 2021 shooting death of Clyde Edmonds, 66. County prosecutor, Kim Worthy, explained details of the plea agreement Appling accepted on the same day his criminal trial for Edmonds’ death began. The plea deal calls for 18 to 40 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and two years served consecutively on the firearm charge.
Prosecutors allege Appling fatally shot Edmonds in May 2021 after the pair were reportedly engaged in a physical altercation over a handgun. The case also has another complicated layer to it as well, due to the fact that Edmonds’ wife and Appling’s mother are first cousins.
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Additionally, Appling’s girlfriend Natalie Bannister was also involved in the deadly encounter as it has been reported that she drove him from the scene of the crime immediately following the shooting. In 2022 Bannister pleaded guilty to one count of lying to a police officer and was subsequently sentenced to 18 months of probation.
According to a statement from prosecutor Worthy, Appling had been “spiraling downward,” before the shooting incident occurred.
“Many of those that tried to intervene with this defendant were hoping that he would get on the right track and stay there,” Worthy said. “It is always tragic when one with so much promise, talent, and possibility is alleged to have committed the most serious of crimes.”
As a native of the Detroit area, Appling flourished early on as a standout basketball player at Pershing Prep High School before playing at Michigan State between 2010 and 2014. During his time under coach Tom Izzo’s guidance, Appling played with NBA champion Draymond Green and averaged a career-high 13 points per game during the 2012-2013 season when the Spartans finished at the no. 2 spot in Big 10 conference standings. Though he went undrafted, Appling did go on to play in the NBA for the Orlando Magic during the 2015-2016 season.
Appling’s current situation is unfortunately not the first of its kind. In fact, yet another college basketball star is at the center of a deadly shooting following a fatal incident that occurred in Alabama last month. Ex-University of Alabama basketball player Darius Miles, 21, and his former teammate Michael Lynn Davis, 20, have been charged with capital murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Jamea Harris, 23, in Tuscaloosa earlier this year.
According to police reports, Harris was engaged in a minor altercation with Miles and Davis prior to being on the receiving end of shots fired into her vehicle. While Appling has accepted a plea deal in his case, Miles has claimed he and his family are “heartbroken,” over the death of Harris and maintained his innocence in a statement from his legal counsel.
“While Darius has been accused of being involved with this tragedy, he maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court.”