Credit: Greene County Jail
Credit: Greene County Jail
During a July 14 in-person meeting with school staff they became suspicious of the documents he presented for enrollment, Kettering police Lt. Craig Moore said Friday during a media briefing announcing the charges against Abu.
“They were looking at the documentation, which was a naturalization paperwork as well as transcripts from a school in Toledo that didn’t look right, looked fraudulent,” he said.
District staff contacted a school resource officer to report their suspicions.
“We initiated the investigation and through the investigation we were able to determine that they were in fact fraudulent documents,” Moore said.
Abu was arrested at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday without incident after four officers responded to the Fairmont soccer field at 3301 Shroyer Road, according to police records.
He had arrest warrants issued by Fairborn police, as well as the sheriff’s offices in Greene and Warren counties, police records state.
The warrants involved a probation violation on theft and tampering charges and failure to appear for driving-related violations, according to a Kettering police arrest report.
Abu was booked into the Greene County Jail, where the school resource officer interviewed him.
“He made a full confession stating that he wanted to play soccer,” Moore said, clarifying that it’s why Abu tried to enroll in the school. “It’s odd, it’s strange.”
Abu graduated from a high school in Columbus, and Moore said it’s believed he may have tried to enroll in other schools.
A letter Tuesday from Kettering Superintendent Mindy McCarty-Stewart and Fairmont boys soccer coach Neil Craft stated that “at no time did this individual engage in any actions or activities that were concerning or would be considered illegal while he was participating in open field.”
Abu had previously attended five other open field practices, district spokeswoman Kari Basson said. Those are voluntary sessions in the summer before official high school practice season begins.
“When we arrested him there, he acted like he didn’t know what was going on,” Moore said.
Staff Writer Nick Blizzard contributed to this report.
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