Former Michigan State basketball player Keith Appling was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon. It's the second time he has faced this charge in the past few months.
Appling, 24, was arrested in June in Detroit, when he was in the back seat of a car during a traffic stop. A Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun was in the floorboard, Detroit police testified Tuesday.
In May in Dearborn, Mich., Appling was arrested outside of a strip club and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a loaded firearm and marijuana.
The June incident occurred after officers pulled over Appling's brother on suspicion of speeding in a Dodge Charger. The brother, who was wearing a holster, told them that he had a firearm in the car. The officers found it but also saw the handgun near Appling as he tried to hide a loaded magazine in a T-shirt, police testified. Appling didn't have a permit to carry a concealed handgun.
Appling's attorney, Cyril Hall, said that the weapon didn't belong to Appling. He said a third passenger had brought it into the vehicle. Hall told reporters Tuesday that he believes that police fabricated testimony about seeing the gun's handle before searching the car, because that observation wasn't in the report.
But District Judge Kenneth King said that, based on the testimony, the officers were within their rights to search the vehicle after seeing what appeared to them to be the gun handle.
"The officers had a duty to investigate further for their safety, as well as the safety for their partners," King said.
Appling is set to be arraigned Aug. 2 in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Appling played for the Spartans in 2010-14 and had two 10-day NBA contracts with the Orlando Magic this season.
