PORT ANGELES – We learned Thursday that on May 18, OPNET and Department of Corrections officers went to an address in the 600 block of Hulse Road in Port Angeles to arrest 28-year-old Richard Welches on an outstanding Corrections warrant and three local arrest warrants. The person who answered the door told them Welches had been there, but he was unsure if he was still home.
Officers had authority to search the home and found him hiding in the insulation of the attic.
OPNET obtained a search warrant for the residence and Welches’ vehicle, where they recovered nine firearms, including a small firearm disguised as a writing pen, pistols, AR-style rifles, and a US Army 66mm LAW rocket launcher. Five of the nine firearms have been confirmed as stolen, the other four are still under investigation.
Aside from the firearms, detectives found suspected fentanyl, suspected heroin, scales, packaging materials, and about $1,700 in cash.
This is the third time that OPNET has arrested Welches with essentially the same fact pattern. At the time of this arrest, he was out of jail on bail for the prior two cases.