by Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 05/97) - Police arrested a 17-year-old Friday afternoon following an incident downtown that ended with the youth falling through a plate glass window.

"(The youth) has cuts to his back and has a gash on the back of his shoulder," said Staff Sgt. Dave Grundy minutes after the arrest. "He's going to require some stitches." The youth, who cannot be named, has been charged with trying to obtain false identification in connection with the incident that occurred the Motor Vehicles office on Franklin Ave.

When his request for ID was turned down, the youth struggled with deputy registrar Gary Walsh, police said. Walsh chased him through the building, out the back door and to a nearby residence, where the youth fell through a window.

Richard MacDonald, director of the Motor Vehicles office, said Friday's incident isn't the first involving a teen trying to obtain false identification.

"It happens about a dozen times a year -- that's how many we apprehend," he said.

This latest incident, however, is the first time an attempt to get fake ID has turned violent, said MacDonald.

The youth was taken to Stanton Regional Hospital, treated for minor cuts and released into police custody that day. He is scheduled to appear in youth court.