Man with fake ID tries to enroll in high school

A 22-year-old man who tried to register as a student at Douglas High School has been charged with possession of false identification.

Bradley James Coushman was arrested Sept. 11 after he tried to enroll with a passport that had been altered. He is also on felony probation for burglary in California.

According to reports, Coushman showed up on campus the first week of school and asked to register as a new student. When he told a school employee he was 17, she said he would have to return with a parent or guardian and a birth certificate or passport.

He said his parents were dead and he wanted to finish his education at Douglas High School because he was living with his grandparents at Topaz Lake. He returned to school a few days later and said he really was 18, and, claiming to be from England, said his grandmother wouldn't give him his passport.

Coushman came back Sept. 11 with a passport, but the birth date had been altered.

According to Coushman, his grandmother accidentally washed the passport and information was written in.

The school's resource officer ran Coushman's information and discovered he was on felony probation for burglary in Santa Clara County, Calif., and had been arrested for resisting or obstructing a peace officer at the Reno-Tahoe Airport.

He said he arrived in the United States on Aug. 21 from the United Kingdom.

When the school officer pointed out the most recent entry date on the passport from England was 2002, Coushman said he had two passports because of dual citizenship and used another passport to enter the United States in August.

He denied any criminal activity and told the officer his identity had been stolen. Finally, he admitted he had been arrested during a security check at the airport.

The investigation was turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.