EMU basketball star & former top recruit Emoni Bates was arrested on gun charges after being pulled over last night for failure to stop at an intersection and was found to have a gun in his possession. He is charged with two felonies -- one for carrying a concealed weapon and one for for altering ID marks on a weapon. Bates is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but this is not a good look for someone who is trying to reinvent his basketball career and image!

A nightmare for coach Heath

Changing markings sounds like a severe charge and offense. Not good. His statement revolves around him doing something positive for the community by playing basketball at EMU. His statement underscores his perceived entitlement as a basketball player and particularly as a basketball player of his caliber at EMU. Entitlement chafes.

No wonder MSU backed off and he left Memphis.

Wish him well. He's likely hanging with his Ypsi boys and they're dragging him down. That's a problem for some guys when they stay in their HT

This will be very interesting to see how this is handled. EMU will pull strings. He was arrested locally in Washtenaw TWP. Wow - all eyes will be laser focused on this from two perspectives. One - special treatment afforded athletes and two - racial issues. Crazy times.

UT has actually done a great job for many years relative to bringing in quality young people all across the athletic program. Kudos to all UT coaches.

Word now that EMU has suspended him, but seems like there's a lot to be determined on this.

Word from Bates' lawyer is that he borrowed the car from someone, and so, in theory the gun wasn't his. Wonder why there was a search if it was a routine traffic stop. Too soon to judge on this one yet.

(09-19-2022 02:48 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  Word now that EMU has suspended him, but seems like there's a lot to be determined on this.

Word from Bates' lawyer is that he borrowed the car from someone, and so, in theory the gun wasn't his. Wonder why there was a search if it was a routine traffic stop. Too soon to judge on this one yet.

Borrowing is a time honored legal tactic. Perhaps it is true. He is innocent until proven otherwise. I know I'd want all possible legal considerations if I was picked-up.

I just made a bad judgment the other day on an issue. I am in no position to become preachy.

Let this all be sorted out, only time will tell.

Doesn’t everyone in Michigan have a gun in their car? And why are you searching a car for a minor traffic violation? Not a good look for Bates but Seems like his only offense was rolling a stop sign. He wasn’t using the gun which may or may not have been his for anything. One of those good lawyer small problem no lawyer big problem cases.

I remember fat EMU 40 yd old student starting "DUI" every chance he got when Drummond shot foul shots or missed a shot in 2014. That dude yelled some pretty nasty stuff at him.

[quote='pono' pid='18457010' dateline='1663624808']
Doesn’t everyone in Michigan have a gun in their car? And why are you searching a car for a minor traffic violation? Not a good look for Bates but Seems like his only offense was rolling a stop sign. He wasn’t using the gun which may or may not have been his for anything. One of those good lawyer small problem no lawyer big problem cases.

well said. It's not very long until the first game. Practice starts in just a couple weeks for UT. Things will have to move very very quickly for him to play right-away.

(09-19-2022 05:00 PM)pono Wrote:  Doesn’t everyone in Michigan have a gun in their car? And why are you searching a car for a minor traffic violation? Not a good look for Bates but Seems like his only offense was rolling a stop sign. He wasn’t using the gun which may or may not have been his for anything. One of those good lawyer small problem no lawyer big problem cases.

Because the car wasn't registered to him or a family member.

(09-20-2022 09:23 AM)utpotts Wrote:  

(09-19-2022 05:00 PM)pono Wrote:  Doesn’t everyone in Michigan have a gun in their car? And why are you searching a car for a minor traffic violation? Not a good look for Bates but Seems like his only offense was rolling a stop sign. He wasn’t using the gun which may or may not have been his for anything. One of those good lawyer small problem no lawyer big problem cases.

Because the car wasn't registered to him or a family member.

Details, details. There goes the "driving while black" insinuation - while at the same time, it bolsters the "it's not my car" defense. Not sure how that helps him on either gun charge if the gun was found to be on his person. Since he is not 21, that could also be the nature of the concealed carry violation. Not clear. If the gun was found hidden in the car where he may not have been aware it was there, his prospects look a lot better. But I don't believe you can be hit with a concealed weapon charge for that - unless the gun was in his immediate proximity and could easily be retrieved by him while in the car.

The police had good reason to believe the car could have been stolen, which would have put them on high alert at the time and would have triggered the search of the car - and himself. Police don't like it much when somebody is carrying a weapon and do not disclose it. It is required to be done with a CPL. But, even if, or especially if, you have it illegally - you're going to be better off telling them you are carrying a firearm if you are pulled over for any reason. Not likely that will happen, but you certainly better do it at the time they tell you to step out of the car. By then, they were likely standing back away from the car, and may have already un-holstered their weapons not knowing what they were dealing with. Not a good time to start being uncooperative. Sounds like he avoided all of that and complied with the officer's commands.

The other thing that he will need to be concerned about is what he knows about the gun and how it was acquired. Could be he knows nothing about it. But, since the serial numbers were altered, it is highly likely the gun was acquired illegally. He's going to be in deep doo-doo if after running ballistics on the gun, they find there is a match on a bullet used in a prior shooting with injuries or death that is being investigated.

A lot of facts in the case not being disclosed at this time - as would be expected.

(09-22-2022 09:59 AM)MotoRocket Wrote:  

(09-20-2022 09:23 AM)utpotts Wrote:  

(09-19-2022 05:00 PM)pono Wrote:  Doesn’t everyone in Michigan have a gun in their car? And why are you searching a car for a minor traffic violation? Not a good look for Bates but Seems like his only offense was rolling a stop sign. He wasn’t using the gun which may or may not have been his for anything. One of those good lawyer small problem no lawyer big problem cases.

Because the car wasn't registered to him or a family member.

Details, details. There goes the "driving while black" insinuation - while at the same time, it bolsters the "it's not my car" defense. Not sure how that helps him on either gun charge if the gun was found to be on his person. Since he is not 21, that could also be the nature of the concealed carry violation. Not clear. If the gun was found hidden in the car where he may not have been aware it was there, his prospects look a lot better. But I don't believe you can be hit with a concealed weapon charge for that - unless the gun was in his immediate proximity and could easily be retrieved by him while in the car.

The police had good reason to believe the car could have been stolen, which would have put them on high alert at the time and would have triggered the search of the car - and himself. Police don't like it much when somebody is carrying a weapon and do not disclose it. It is required to be done with a CPL. But, even if, or especially if, you have it illegally - you're going to be better off telling them you are carrying a firearm if you are pulled over for any reason. Not likely that will happen, but you certainly better do it at the time they tell you to step out of the car. By then, they were likely standing back away from the car, and may have already un-holstered their weapons not knowing what they were dealing with. Not a good time to start being uncooperative. Sounds like he avoided all of that and complied with the officer's commands.

The other thing that he will need to be concerned about is what he knows about the gun and how it was acquired. Could be he knows nothing about it. But, since the serial numbers were altered, it is highly likely the gun was acquired illegally. He's going to be in deep doo-doo if after running ballistics on the gun, they find there is a match on a bullet used in a prior shooting with injuries or death that is being investigated.

A lot of facts in the case not being disclosed at this time - as would be expected.

lots of what if, man. the police statement was that he was driving a borrowed car, they stopped and searched it, and a weapon which had the serial numbers scratched was found in the vehicle during a search (obviously a gun with a criminal history in that a previous or current owner didn't want its history traceable). bates was not charged with anything else, so apparently complied with the officer and did not claim ownership of the weapon. there has been no suggestion bates used the weapon in any crime or was responsible for someone in the past who used the weapon in a crime.

on the EMU board they mostly see this as a DWB. one "i heard" post was that the cop pulled behind bates after he rolled a stop sign, followed him for a couple miles, pulled him over and searched the car. some think it will only add to the growing chip on the shoulder attitude this team of 2nd chance talents is developing.

consider the context as well. 2 NFL players got shot in robberies in preseason. a popular EMU football player was killed in a robbery a few years ago.

(09-23-2022 01:46 AM)pono Wrote:  

(09-22-2022 09:59 AM)MotoRocket Wrote:  

(09-20-2022 09:23 AM)utpotts Wrote:  

(09-19-2022 05:00 PM)pono Wrote:  Doesn’t everyone in Michigan have a gun in their car? And why are you searching a car for a minor traffic violation? Not a good look for Bates but Seems like his only offense was rolling a stop sign. He wasn’t using the gun which may or may not have been his for anything. One of those good lawyer small problem no lawyer big problem cases.

Because the car wasn't registered to him or a family member.

Details, details. There goes the "driving while black" insinuation - while at the same time, it bolsters the "it's not my car" defense. Not sure how that helps him on either gun charge if the gun was found to be on his person. Since he is not 21, that could also be the nature of the concealed carry violation. Not clear. If the gun was found hidden in the car where he may not have been aware it was there, his prospects look a lot better. But I don't believe you can be hit with a concealed weapon charge for that - unless the gun was in his immediate proximity and could easily be retrieved by him while in the car.

The police had good reason to believe the car could have been stolen, which would have put them on high alert at the time and would have triggered the search of the car - and himself. Police don't like it much when somebody is carrying a weapon and do not disclose it. It is required to be done with a CPL. But, even if, or especially if, you have it illegally - you're going to be better off telling them you are carrying a firearm if you are pulled over for any reason. Not likely that will happen, but you certainly better do it at the time they tell you to step out of the car. By then, they were likely standing back away from the car, and may have already un-holstered their weapons not knowing what they were dealing with. Not a good time to start being uncooperative. Sounds like he avoided all of that and complied with the officer's commands.

The other thing that he will need to be concerned about is what he knows about the gun and how it was acquired. Could be he knows nothing about it. But, since the serial numbers were altered, it is highly likely the gun was acquired illegally. He's going to be in deep doo-doo if after running ballistics on the gun, they find there is a match on a bullet used in a prior shooting with injuries or death that is being investigated.

A lot of facts in the case not being disclosed at this time - as would be expected.

lots of what if, man. the police statement was that he was driving a borrowed car, they stopped and searched it, and a weapon which had the serial numbers scratched was found in the vehicle during a search (obviously a gun with a criminal history in that a previous or current owner didn't want its history traceable). bates was not charged with anything else, so apparently complied with the officer and did not claim ownership of the weapon. there has been no suggestion bates used the weapon in any crime or was responsible for someone in the past who used the weapon in a crime.

on the EMU board they mostly see this as a DWB. one "i heard" post was that the cop pulled behind bates after he rolled a stop sign, followed him for a couple miles, pulled him over and searched the car. some think it will only add to the growing chip on the shoulder attitude this team of 2nd chance talents is developing.

consider the context as well. 2 NFL players got shot in robberies in preseason. a popular EMU football player was killed in a robbery a few years ago.

Where is the "what if" that doesn't relate to the information provided? The police had reason to believe the car may have been stolen. A car rolls through a stop sign and police opt to follow it. Could be a drunk driver, so they observe. They also can run the plates to find out if it is stolen, and the name of the registered owner and address. When they decide to pull the car over and ask for license and registration - they will know immediately the driver is not the owner of the car. They still do not know if it is stolen until further checking on the vehicle is performed.

they indicated he violated conceal carry laws. It does not say if the gun was on his person or somewhere in the car. Unless you saw some other info, I did not see where they said the weapon was in the car and not on him. He was also not old enough to have a CPL - so that could have been the reason for the felony charges he is facing. The gun may not have been used in a crime as you suggested, but could have been stolen from a lawful owner out of car or in a home burglary. Getting rid of the serial number keeps them from being charged with theft if it was stolen and other crimes committed. But it also lead to another felony being charged. It may not have been used in another crime - but could instead be taken in the commission of another crime. I also never said Bates used the weapon in another crime. I said he better hope ballistics on the gun may come back indicating it was used in another shooting. Since he had the gun, that puts the focus would on him - and they would turn those screws tightly to find out where the gun came from. Not the topic he wants to cover and reveal to the police. However the gun got into his possession while in the car (or prior to getting into the car) is going to make the person responsible for that gun being in the car plenty nervous. Which in turn should make him nervous and looking over his shoulder based on what he knows. Like I said, too many things not disclosed so far. Could be minimum charges - or all charges dropped if he was not aware the gun was in the car. Will not go so well if he had the gun on him - which is highly unlikely since he would have had plenty of time to ditch the gun in the car while police were following him before pulling the car over.

Interviews with the car owner will be interesting to hear. I'm assuming the judge heard enough to make her feel comfortable with letting him out on a fairly low bond - along with the admonishment she dealt him. Having no criminal past works in his favor in that regard.

I'm not being judgmental. I made enough mistakes at that age to know how stupid you can be when you feel invincible. I was lucky enough to never have been caught and smart enough to quit hanging around the wrong people.

According to EMU board the car and gun belonged to Emoni's father. The county will decide on Oct 6th whether to go forward with charges. If they do, it is likely his father will then step in and assume responsibility for the gun. Likely that Emoni avoids criminal liability but, man, what are you thinking pops? If you need a gun just get a legal one, it's easier than buying beer.

(09-26-2022 02:07 PM)pono Wrote:  According to EMU board the car and gun belonged to Emoni's father. The county will decide on Oct 6th whether to go forward with charges. If they do, it is likely his father will then step in and assume responsibility for the gun. Likely that Emoni avoids criminal liability but, man, what are you thinking pops? If you need a gun just get a legal one, it's easier than buying beer.

Emoni's dad has already made a lot of questionable decisions that have negatively impacted his son's prospects. Looks like possibly one more.

Plea deal made.

Bates will make his debut tonight Nov 11 against UM. Big game.

Go Rockets!

his dad's car and gun, but his weed. there's body cam footage of the whole arrest. emoni was overly compliant and volunteered all the info on the illegal stuff and allowed the cops to search the vehicle, even cried and broke down while it was happening. cops were professional and did not escalate anything. his actions both got him into trouble but also helped with his plea deal since he was so cooperative.

heath suspended him for a game and tonight's his opener. I think people have been way too hard on the kid. he's still only 18. had to deal with being called the next coming of Lebron at age 15. kinda peaked early and then deelt with being called a failure as some other top talent caught up to him and he made the decision to go college a year early before his body was quite ready for it. Seems well liked by his teammates and coaches and not a primadonna type star. I think he'll flourish in the MAC and the slightly lower level of play is exactly what he needs to regain his confidence and develop his overall game at this level. he'll play in the NBA.

(11-11-2022 02:44 PM)pono Wrote:  his dad's car and gun, but his weed. there's body cam footage of the whole arrest. emoni was overly compliant and volunteered all the info on the illegal stuff and allowed the cops to search the vehicle, even cried and broke down while it was happening. cops were professional and did not escalate anything. his actions both got him into trouble but also helped with his plea deal since he was so cooperative.

heath suspended him for a game and tonight's his opener. I think people have been way too hard on the kid. he's still only 18. had to deal with being called the next coming of Lebron at age 15. kinda peaked early and then deelt with being called a failure as some other top talent caught up to him and he made the decision to go college a year early before his body was quite ready for it. Seems well liked by his teammates and coaches and not a primadonna type star. I think he'll flourish in the MAC and the slightly lower level of play is exactly what he needs to regain his confidence and develop his overall game at this level. he'll play in the NBA.

No permanent repercussions. "18" we used to call being a man and taking full responsibility and that's as it should be. But it's done, that's important to recognize. He has opportunity to show if the potential people thought he had, is reality. Not everyone gets that. No one's been too hard on the kid. That's some soft stuff there.

Bates scored 30 points as EMU almost beat Michigan

Hmmm I might take an hour or so to get a glimpse of the new additions at EMU tonight

Eastern Michigan @ Bradley - 8 PM [ESPN+]

Bates, Farrkahan and DIckinson were the best 3 players on the floor in that game. EMU's starters are legit. They just don't have much depth.