Star Athlete Turns Out to Be Imposter

ODESSA, Texas (AP) _ Police say a West Texas high school student who starred for the school’s basketball team this season turns out to be a naturalized citizen from Haiti.

The Odessa American reports Guerdwich Montimere has been charged with presenting false identification to a peace officer. That’s after police confronted him about his identity.

Ector County school district officials say Montimere, 22, posed as Jerry Joseph, a 16-year-old sophomore at Odessa’s Permian High School. Suspicions about the player’s identity first arose when three Florida basketball coaches familiar with Montimere spotted him last month at an amateur basketball tournament in Little Rock, Ark. School district officials grew more suspicious when they contacted U.S. immigration officials, who eventually confirmed the alleged charade.

He’s in the Ector County jail in Odessa with bond set at $500. Jail officials had no attorney listed for Montimere.

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