An undercover investigation in Virginia ended with the arrest of an off-duty Pentagon police officer by the Arlington County Police Department last Friday.

The ACPD issued a press release on Halloween which said their detectives had been investigating Welch for possibly selling drugs based on evidence for which they did not offer specifics. The investigation is still active so it’s not uncommon for law enforcement agencies of any kind to keep information limited until the investigation is complete. Thus, not much detail was offered in general about this case other than the following:

“He was taken into custody on the afternoon of October 28 in the 1300 block of S. Scott Street (Arlington, VA) after detectives observed him purchase narcotics for distribution. A firearm was recovered at the scene. A search warrant was subsequently executed at the suspect’s residence in Alexandria which resulted in the recovery of additional quantities of narcotics and firearms. As a result, City of Alexandria Police charged Welch with Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substance (x2) and Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substance while Armed,” – Arlington County Police Department.

Those charges indicate Welch was arrested with anywhere from 2.5 to five kilos of cocaine. Naturally, I emailed the Pentagon to ask them how in the Sam Hell an officer of theirs managed to get his hands on that much coke when my guy has been dry for weeks. They sent me the following statement:

“The Pentagon Force Protection Agency is aware that an off-duty Pentagon Police Officer was arrested by the Arlington County Police Department on October 28, 2022. The officer was placed on administrative leave.”

I asked if this was the first time Welch had been reprimanded for conduct in or outside of the workplace.

“We don’t comment on individual personnel matters,” said Jacqueline Yost, director of the corporate communications office at the Pentagon Force Protection Agency.

Welch was arrested at least once prior in Arlington County as well. Court records show Welch pleaded guilty to charges of destruction of property of value greater than $1,000 as well as disorderly conduct. A separate charge of failure to pay for a rental vehicle or animal was also entered but no other information was immediately available. I did a cursory search of court records for neighboring Virginia counties and a search of Washington D.C. court records and found no other entries for an Eric Michael Welch. 

When asked if they were aware if Welch has a prior criminal history, or if it’s common to allow police officers to work with criminal records, the Pentagon did not wish to comment. 

As of Wednesday morning, an inmate query with the Arlington County Detention Facility showed Welch was still incarcerated and being held without bond. 

Interestingly enough, Welch maintained a moderately active Instagram presence dedicated to bodybuilding and fitness of all things prior to being arrested. His handle is @welch_fit but, in the interest of complete transparency, I’m saying that based on basic image and name comparison as I could not verify directly with Welch that it was the same guy. 

He is downright ripped, like eats a bowl of nails for breakfast ripped, and lists a company called MSF Supplements as a sponsor in his Instagram bio. I reached out to them to see if Welch is still a sponsored athlete or if they were aware of the charges and they did not get back to me in time for publication. 

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