Trying to Relive the Glory Days

A couple of weeks ago, Jerry Joseph was a 16 year old sophomore on the Varsity basketball team at Permian HS in Odessa, TX. At the time of his enrollment in school at the beginning of his sophomore year Joseph, who was listed as homeless, was taken in by one of the coaches at his new school. He had just been named the school's newcomer of the year and had just helped Permian reach the finals in the state competition. Everything seemed to be going his way.

That was until recently when he was playing in a basketball tournament and he ran into some familiar faces.

Turns out that Jerry wasn't the star basketball player that everyone thought he was. Jerry Joesph's real name is Guerdwich Montimere and he is not 16, he is in fact 22. He some how successfully managed to deceive Ector County Independent School District through several falsified documents and a string of lies.

Two weeks ago at the tournament, a couple of AAU basketball coaches from Fort Lauderdale, FL tipped off the Permian coaches when they recognized Montimere. He had originally graduated from Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale. It seems as though, Montimere was trying to take another stab at his high school glory days.

I'm not sure, if given the opportunity, that I would go back and relive high school again. The whole thing is rather disturbing. What was his motivation? How did he do it? And with the level of "extracurricular" activities that go on with the average high school student, did Montimere have any relationships with his "peers?"

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Guerdwich posted bail and was released from jail. Guerdwich could face up to six months in prison and a fine of $2,500 if he is convicted of identity theft.