SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The former No. 1 basketball recruit out of high school, Emoni Bates, was arrested Sunday night in Washtenaw County, Michigan, after police found a gun in the car he was driving.
Washtenaw County sheriffs office public information officer, Derrick Jackson, says police "initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle which failed to stop" at an intersection.
Police say they found a weapon in the car and arrested Bates, 18, for carrying a concealed weapon.
Under Michigan law, the former Memphis Tiger and Eastern Michigan transfer can face up to five years in prison.
Steve Haney, Bates' lawyer, says Bates "borrowed someone's car, was pulled over and a gun was located in the car."
Haney says Bates is now out of jail under a non-monetary bond. Bates is scheduled to be back in court October 7.
In a statement, Eastern Michigan announced that Bates would be suspended "until the legal process is resolved."
Bates was, at one point, the No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class, before he reclassified, becoming No. 3 in the 2021 class.
The high school star committed to Michigan State in 2020, but upon reclassifying committed to Memphis.
In his lone season with the Tigers, Bates spent a large portion of the schedule away from the court, missing 15 of 33 games with a back injury.