Man hid his true identity for decades — until getting a COVID shot outed him, feds say
A Tennessee man was living using a different name for decades. No one knew his true identity — not even his girlfriend of 30 years, the mother of their three children.
That was until one small detail led law enforcement officials to his real identity: his COVID-19 vaccine.
Jerry Leon Blankenship, 65, from Newport, a city about 50 miles east of Knoxville, had been using someone else’s identity since the early 1980s, according to court documents obtained by McClatchy News.
Cameron C. Kuhlman, Blankenship’s defense attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy.
At the time, Blankenship had deserted the U.S. Navy after completing basic training. To avoid military service, he assumed the name and identity of another individual, authorities said.
In the early 1980s, Blankenship was in a short relationship with a woman. When the woman heard he went AWOL from the Navy, she suggested he used the identity of the father of her child to avoid trouble from the military, court documents show. She shared important information such as his social security number with Blankenship.
After he and the woman separated, he met the “estranged” daughter of his first wife, from a different relationship, and they started dating, authorities said. Documents show the two settled in Newport where they raised three children and built a home repair business together.
“Although it came as a surprise to us all when we found out he had been taken into custody and why, it doesn’t change who he is as a person,” Blankenship’s daughter said in a letter.
“Daddy has always been an incredible, faithful, caring and honest man (minus the name.) He is an outstanding citizen,” she added.
Law enforcement in Tennessee became aware of Blankenship’s offenses after reports from a victim of identity theft in North Carolina, authorities said.
The man reported that “he had been plagued with identity theft issues” for the last 20 years. The most recent event had taken place in March 2021 when Walgreens contacted him about his COVID-19 vaccine — which he had never received, authorities said.
Law enforcement officials obtained video surveillance from Walgreens, which showed Blankenship receiving the vaccine in the man’s name, according to court documents.
Blankenship pleaded guilty to one count of false use of a social security number and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to his plea agreement.
On March 21, Blankenship was sentenced to 25 months in prison followed by three years on supervised release, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Blankenship could also face a military tribunal for his desertion, according to the release.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Man hid his true identity for decades — until getting a COVID shot outed him, feds say."
