Allen Parish School Board member pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft
Last Modified: Monday, July 02, 2012 1:28 PM
By Doris Maricle / American Press
Allen Parish School Board Member Keith Welch has pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor theft in the 33rd Judicial District Court with Ad Hoc Judge Stuart Kay, Jr. presiding.
As part of the guilty plea, Welch, 46, must resign from his School Board position and pay $2,000 in restitution, according to a press release from Attorney Buddy Caldwell.
The guilty plea was the result of an internal theft from the Coushatta Resort Casino where Welch was formerly employed.
Welch will remain on probation for the next four months. He could be eligible to have the conviction set aside at that point if he remains arrest and conviction free.
“We are satisfied with the results of this conviction,” Director of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division, Kurt Wall, stated in a press release. “We felt strongly that Mr. Welch should not continue to serve as an elected official and we also wanted to recover restitution for the victim in this case. Since Mr. Welch had no previous criminal history and was willing to accept responsibility for his actions, we were able to reach this resolution.”
Welch pleaded innocent to theft of U.S. currency last April.
He was arrested by state police on four counts of felony theft and two counts of misdemeanor theft in September 2010.
He is accused of taking money from several machines over a 10-day period while employed as a kiosk drop team manager at the Coushatta Casino Resort.
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