Student impostor from Florida wanted to play basketball

YUMA, Ariz. (AP) -- A 22-year-old Florida man accused of posing as a student at two Yuma high schools told authorities that he wanted to play basketball and hoped to get a college scholarship.

Yuma police on Wednesday arrested Anthony M. Avalos for fraudulently attending Kofa High School and Vista Alternative School intermittently since September 2008. He was a center on Kofa's basketball team.

Police say Avalos is facing charges of forgery and sexual conduct with a minor and is jailed on more than $110,000 bond.

Court records show Avalos graduated from Crestview, Florida.

High School in 2005. Authorities say he admitted to creating a fake birth certificate using a word processing program on his laptop computer and used it to enroll in the Yuma schools.

They say Avalos also admitted to having sex with a girl he knew was under age 18 on at least three different occasions.