A judge increased bond Wednesday in two criminal cases involving former Michigan State University basketball star Keith Appling after charges in a third case were authorized against him this week.
That put Appling back behind bars only hours after he bonded out of jail on the third case Tuesday night. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, he had not posted the higher bonds in the first two cases.
Prosecutors filed an emergency motion to have Appling's bond reconsidered in the first two cases currently pending before Wayne Circuit Judge Lawrence Talon.
He increased bond in the May case to $50,000, 10% cash/surety and bond in the June case to $50,000, 10% cash/surety as well. That means Appling will have to post $10,000 to get out of jail again.
“While on bond, he’s continuing to pick up or be arrested on new gun charges,” Talon said, explaining his decision.
He also ordered Appling to wear a GPS tether, stay away from guns and be home 6 p.m.-8 a.m.
Appling’s attorney, Otis Culpepper, said he expected his client to be out of jail Wednesday, although he had not be released as of 5 p.m. During the hearing, he pointed out that the two Detroit police officers who arrested Appling on the second alleged crime were the same officers who arrested him Sunday.
“How likely is that?” Culpepper said in court.
When asked to elaborate on what he was insinuating after the hearing, he said: “Nothing ... how often does lightning strike the same place that quickly?”
Detroit police spokesman Sgt. Michael Woody responded saying, “Obviously his comments are meant to deceive the general public and convince them that no crime has occurred here when, in fact, Mr. Appling threw a weapon out of his vehicle while fleeing from the police.”
During Wednesday's hearing, Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Matthew Forrest argued that bond in the first two cases was “woefully inadequate,” pointing out Appling has three criminal cases involving firearms that all happened in less than four months.
While out on bond in the first case, he picked up the second case, and while out of bond on those two cases, he picked up a third case, Forrest said.
"The defendant clearly has no regard for the orders of the court and the bond as currently set has certainly not been a deterrent to further criminal activity," he said in a court document requesting reconsideration of Appling's bond filed Tuesday.
Culpepper, who told the judge his client is employed as a professional basketball player, argued bond was adequate and said the first two cases were taken into consideration by the magistrate who set bond in Appling’s third case on Tuesday.
Family and friends gathered the $5,000 needed to get Appling out the Wayne County Jail and he was released about 8 p.m. Tuesday, Culpepper said.
“I give the court my personal assurance that he will make every court appearance set,” he said.
Appling faces four new felonies in connection with his arrest on Sunday: carrying a concealed weapon, resisting and obstructing police, third-degree fleeing and eluding and felony firearm.
Detroit police stopped him on a traffic violation in the area of 7 Mile and Russell about 9:15 p.m., officials said. A police officer reached in the car to get his identification, and Appling is accused of driving off while the officer's hand was still in the window.
Authorities say Appling threw a Gucci bag from his car. Police found the bag, which had Appling's name on it and handgun inside, near the area of the initial stop.
Appling, a point guard at MSU in 2010-14 and a former star at Pershing High School in Detroit, has been in the news since May for his criminal cases.
That’s when Appling was arrested outside a strip club in Dearborn. Authorities say they found a handgun under the driver's seat of the car Appling was in, a loaded weapon in the trunk and a small amount of suspected marijuana inside the car. Before Wednesday, bond in that case was a $5,000 personal recognizance.
Then in June, Detroit police arrested him. He also is accused of having a gun in that case. Bond in that case had been set at $5,000, 10%.
Talon set trial dates for those two cases: The first starts Dec. 14 and the second Jan. 11 in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice.
Contact Elisha Anderson: 313-222-5144 or eanderson@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @elishaanderson.