Share:
Font Size:
Keith Appling Enters Guilty Plea in Whitcomb Street Fatal Shooting
On June 10, 2021, Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Keith Damon Appling, 31, of Detroit, in connection with the fatal shooting of Clyde Edmonds, 66, also of Detroit. The defendant and Mr. Edmonds are related. Mr. Edmond's wife is the first cousin of Defendant Appling's mother. The defendant's girlfriend, Natalie Brooks Bannister, 30, of Jackson, Michigan, was also charged in connection with the case.
At the time of charging Prosecutor Worthy said, "It has been clear that this man has been spiraling downward for some time. Many of those that tried to intervene with this defendant were hoping that he would get on the right track and stay there. It is always tragic when one with so much promise, talent, and possibility is alleged to have committed the most serious of crimes."
On May 22, 2021, at approximately 7:10 p.m. Detroit police officers were dispatched to a residence in the 13240 block of Whitcomb Street in Detroit for a reported shooting. Upon arrival, officers located the victim on the front lawn of the residence with multiple gunshot wounds. Medics arrived on scene and transported Mr. Edmonds to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased. It is alleged that Defendant Appling had an argument with Mr. Edmonds over a handgun and he fatally shot Mr. Edmonds multiple times before he fled the scene. It is further alleged that Ms. Bannister drove Defendant Appling away from the crime and failed to tell the truth to officers investigating the case.
On June 10th Defendant Appling was arraigned on one count of First-Degree Murder, one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and two counts of Felony Firearm. Today he pled guilty to one count of Second-Degree Murder with a sentence agreement of 18 to 40 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections and two years consecutive for Felony Firearm. The other charges will be dismissed at the sentence hearing by Judge Charise L. Anderson on March 3, 2023.
Natalie Bannister was also charged and arraigned on one count of Accessory After the Fact, and one count of Lying to a Peace Office on June 10, 2021. On July 29, 2022, she pled guilty to Lying to a Peace Officer, and received 1 year and 6 months probations. The Accessory After the Fact charge was dismissed.
Please request a photograph of the defendants from the Detroit Police Department.
#####
