Teen will stand trial as adult in burglary

Stolen guns lead to charges

A 16-year-old boy, arrested after North Little Rock police reported seeing him with a pair of stolen automatic weapons, must stand trial as an adult on burglary and theft charges, a Pulaski County circuit judge has ruled.

Attorneys for Brian Welch had petitioned Judge Barry Sims to transfer the charges, which carry up to 26 years in prison, to juvenile court. Sims' decision came after a 2½-hour hearing on Thursday. Welch, who will turn 17 next month, did not testify.

Welch has been jailed since his Nov. 11 arrest on West 33rd Street in North Little Rock after a foot chase by police. According to testimony, police had been called to 508 W. 35th St. to investigate a complaint about three people removing items from the home.

Officers arrived to find Welch, holding two AR-15 rifles, and a second person behind the residence. Both people ran, but officers said they chose to go after Welch because he had the guns.

During the foot pursuit, Welch reportedly left one of the rifles behind and briefly eluded police by running through a neighboring home. Police caught up to him a short distance from the residence, but the second rifle has never been found, and the two other people seen at the home got away.

Prosecutors elected to charge Welch as an adult, given his criminal history. Deputy prosecutors Anna Catherine Cargile and Wilson Raines urged the judge to keep Welch's case in circuit court.

According to testimony, Welch has been in the juvenile justice system for more than three years, with convictions for breaking or entering, fleeing and residential burglary.

At age 13, Welch was charged as an adult in a July 2016 armed robbery in Little Rock, but the case, with the agreement of prosecutors, was transferred to juvenile court. He was committed to the custody of the Division of Youth Services for about 11½ months. He was released on probation last July, about four months before his burglary arrest.

Probation officer Valerie Phillips told the judge that authorities had moved to revoke Welch's probation a few weeks before his arrest because he wasn't attending school regularly and had missed a probation meeting.

Responding to questions from the judge, Phillips said that she did not think Welch could be successful in juvenile court given his record and issues his mother has had complying with the conditions of his probation.

But defense attorneys Colleen Barnhill and Marianne Furrer told the judge that Welch's counselors believe he could be rehabilitated with further incarceration and therapy in the juvenile system.

Welch did well while he was in that structured environment, with both his grades and his behavior showing notable improvement, particularly once he was receiving the appropriate medications, case manager Amanda Lewis told the judge.

He was "a completely different child" once he began his medication regimen, Lewis said. Disciplinary reports about Welch dwindled from four or five a day to one or two a month, she said, adding that he came to see the value of taking the medications.

But once he was released from custody, his mother did not completely comply with his aftercare and discouraged him from using medications.

Angela Bryant, the teen's mother, told the judge she "dropped the ball."

Welch had five prescriptions for a variety of diagnoses, including bipolar disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but Bryant said she could not accept those findings.

Bryant, 45, told the judge she now "100%" regrets that decision, saying she now fully understands how much he needs medication.

"I've been in denial about him for a long time. I will stand up and be a parent, which I am willing to do this time around," Bryant testified. "I failed Brian from the very beginning ... before he was born."

Bryant said she's made changes to better focus on Welch, the third of her four children. She's got a better job now, working for Little Rock School District's food services, with hours that let her watch over him more, Bryant said.

Metro on 05/25/2019

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