A rural Chehalis man is facing one charge of second-degree theft, a Class C felony, in Lewis County Superior Court after he allegedly used his employer’s company credit account for unauthorized personal purchases at the D9 Country Market in Ethel.
During his preliminary court appearance on Friday, Oct. 16, Brian Douglas Welch, 42, appearing virtually from the Lewis County Jail, saw his bail set at $2,500 by Lewis County Superior Court Commissioner Cailen Cecil.
This ruling came after prosecutors asked for $10,000 in bail, citing Welch’s 12 felony convictions a total of 60 warrants issued in past cases, though he added the convictions were “pretty old.”
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller stated that since he resided locally, was employed and had his wife in court to support him, that he should be released on unsecured bail. Welch also asked Cecil to take another factor into consideration.
“I just wanted to say … before you made your order, I completed the (Lewis County) Drug Court,” Welch said.
Lewis County Drug Court offers those convicted of drug-related offenses a structured path to vacating those sentences.
It requires sobriety, substance use disorder treatment, steady employment or education to help participants build a stable life. Successful graduates have their criminal charges dismissed, and the program typically lasts between 16 and 22 months.
Cecil stated she did factor that into her ruling on Friday.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, on Oct. 15, Firehouse Construction LLC owner Bryan Porter filed a complaint with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office alleging that one of his employees, Welch, had been making the unauthorized purchases starting this past summer in June.
According to Porter, Welch allegedly made a total of 26 unauthorized purchases on Porter’s D9 company account going back to June 1, with the purchases totalling $820.79. Receipts on the account revealed items purchased included motor oil, transmission fluid and gas “in smaller quantities than would be made for company vehicles,” along with cigarettes, coffee and other grocery items.
Porter added that all of his employees were informed verbally that the D9 account was strictly for work vehicle refueling only, and denied authorizing Welch to make the alleged purchases.
When contacted by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office investigators about the most recent purchase made on Oct. 12, Welch allegedly denied making any unauthorized purchase and claimed he had made a personal agreement with Porter to “make the purchase as some sort of payment for overtime work,” the affidavit of probable cause stated. Welch also allegedly stated he had stopped working for Porter as of Oct. 10.
When asked about the overtime payment claim, Porter stated no such agreement existed, and Welch was placed under arrest. Cecil set Welch’s arraignment for Oct. 22 at 10:30 a.m.
