By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – A notorious Port Angeles drug dealer was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison Wednesday.

28-year-old Richard Welches pled guilty to three counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver fentanyl, heroin, and meth, Unlawful Possession of a Firearms, and Possession of a Stolen Firearms.

The plea was the result of four different investigations conducted by OPNET beginning in September of 2020 when investigators went to Welches’ residence on Hulse Road to arrest him on an outstanding prison warrant. They found drugs, a stolen rifle, and almost $15,000 in cash.

A month later, OPNET uncovered evidence of a scheme to smuggle drugs into the jail, and the investigation led to Welches as the conspirator on the inside working with another man on the outside. The charges were forwarded to the Prosecutor, as Welches was already in custody.

By January of 2021, Welches was back out and being sought again on another warrant. They found him in possession of about three quarters of a pound of heroin, plus fentanyl and LSD.

Again he was booked, and again in May OPNET went looking for him at his house on new warrants. They found him hiding in the insulation of the attic. They also found more drugs and weapons.

This time, Welches was sentenced to 265 months in prison, followed by 12 months of DOC supervision.

All involved firearms were forfeited as a condition of his plea deal.