Top Hoops Recruit Arrested

This is the kind of news nobody likes to break. Well, we have been slobbering all over Jeremis Smith to come to GaTech. He has narrowed his choices to GT and Arizona. Now this!!! How do these things happen? Stay tuned to find out more about the potential impact. Here is a link to an article about some of his recent exploits ON the court. At the end of the day, these are still 17-year old kids. But you know what - 17 is plenty old enough not to do something like this. Wow! I wonder if Wynona Rider is teaching classes in Dallas on shoplifting.
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FW Dunbar star one of 3 arrested in theft
09:25 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 7, 2003

By DAMON L. SAYLES / The Dallas Morning News

Jeremis Smith, one of the state's top basketball recruits, was among three Fort Worth Dunbar players arrested Monday night on theft charges.

A police report said Smith, 17, and seniors Jeffrey Muriel, 17, and Marcus Samuels, 18, were detained after being found with $105.92 worth of stolen merchandise outside a Target store in the 8500 block of East Interstate 30in Fort Worth.

The report said no stolen property was found on Muriel.

The charge is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. The athletes were released from the Mansfield jail Tuesday on $500 bail. Rick Smith, Jeremis' father, said a court hearing is pending.

"We made a couple of bad decisions," said Jeremis Smith, last season's Class 4A state tournament championship game MVP. "We embarrassed our school, and I want to apologize to everybody."

The report said a store representative watched the three enter the store around 9:24 p.m., walk to the electronics isle and select compact discs and DVDs. With the help of surveillance cameras, the representative noticed Smith and Samuels leave the store without paying for the merchandise.

Muriel was an all-district guard, and Samuels was a reserve guard for Dunbar's state championship team last season. Smith, a 6-7 forward, was a SportsDay first-team all-area selection. He is ranked as high as No. 2 in the state and No. 41 in the nation by recruiting services. An honor-roll student, Smith has narrowed his college choices to Oklahoma, Arizona and Georgia Tech.