Photo Credit: Seth Wenig/ AP Images

Former Michigan State and Orlando Magic guard Keith Appling was sentenced to a year in jail on Thursday in relation to a trio of gun-related arrests that took place over a four-month period last summer.


Appling was arrested in August 2016 for carrying a concealed weapon and attempted resisting and obstructing a police officer. He pleaded guilty to the charges as part of a plea deal his legal team reached with prosecutors last month. Appling will serve a year in jail with no chance for early release; in return, prosecutors agreed to drop two other sets of charges that Appling initially racked up last year.

Appling was arrested by Detroit police on Aug. 28, when, after initially stopping for the police, he drove off when the officer reached for his ID, tossing a bag out the window that contained a handgun. Appling was previously arrested outside a strip club in May 2016, when police found a handgun under the passenger’s seat and a loaded rifle in his trunk. He was arrested again in June 2016, with Detroit police accusing him of carrying a gun at the time in that case as well.


Appling, who works at the Joe Dumars Center, per WXYZ, was granted a work release by the judge. At the conclusion of his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Appling offered his apologies to his mother and community, pledging to move forward with his life after serving his sentence.

“I am extremely disappointed in myself, and I know I let a lot of people down especially my community and kids who look up to me.” [...] “I know I made some my mistakes, but I definitely learned from them. And I’m just ready to get my life back on track. And once all of this is resolved, your honor I promise you that you will never see my face in a court room ever again.”

According to his lawyer, W. Otis Culpepper, the barrage of arrests were a part of a strained but isolated time in Appling’s life; the attorney told reporters at the Detroit Free Press that Appling is still drawing interest from several European clubs.