Former Michigan State Basketball Star Keith Appling Arrested for Fatal Shooting

Keith Appling, a former basketball player for Michigan State University, was arrested Monday as a suspect in the fatal shooting of a man in Detroit Saturday night, according to the Detroit Free Press.

He was arrested by Michigan State troopers without incident in Chelsea and was found with a firearm. 

News of him being wanted as a suspect was initially announced in a release from the Detroit Police Department and obtained by Brett Kast of WXYZ Detroit, a local news station, on Saturday.

At approximately 7:10 p.m. ET Saturday in the 1300 block of Whitcomb, a 29-year-old man and a 66-year-old man got involved in a verbal altercation that turned physical. 

The 29-year-old man, later identified as Appling, shot the 66-year-old man and he later died from his wounds. Appling then fled the scene in a tan-colored Buick Regal and was wanted ever since. 

Appling was arrested in February 2020 and pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, delivering/manufacturing fewer than 50 grams and operating without a license on his person when he was pulled over and found with 19 grams of heroin, according to the Detroit Free Press. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation. 

Before that, he was sentenced to jail for carrying a concealed weapon and resisting and obstructing a police officer in 2017. 

Appling played for the Spartans from 2010 to '14 where he was named All-Big Ten Team Honors in his sophomore and junior years. He wasn't drafted and played in the NBA G League for one year, then played overseas, but was briefly signed to the Magic before returning to playing professionally overseas.