Guilty plea spares shooter prison time
Homeowners agree to lighter sentence
A Little Rock man, one of two people accused of shooting up a Hillcrest home last December, avoided prison time Monday because of the intervention of the homeowners.
Seth Allen Welch, who turns 19 next week, was sentenced to three months in jail, which can be served on weekends, and five years on probation. Welch also will have to perform 120 hours of community service, pay $1,500 fine and reimburse Tom and Holly Barron for their $1,000 insurance deductible.
Welch pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief and two counts of committing a terroristic act in July.
The charges together carry a maximum of 46 years in prison, and Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson said he considered sentencing Welch to prison. The judge said he only allowed probation because the Barrons were amenable to it.
“It’s only because of Mr. Barron and his wife,” Johnson told Welch. “Otherwise, it would be prison. If you violate probation, you’re going to prison. This is the only chance you’re getting.”
After the hearing, deputy prosecutor Lauren Eldridge said the Dec. 8 gunfire at the Barrons’ Pine Manor Drive home, about two blocks north of Hall High School, was the culmination of a feud between teenagers that included pranks, such as the theft of some Christmas lights, but spun out of control.
The target of the shooting was the Barrons’ son, 18-yearold Gavin Branson, police said. Investigators said bullets hit the brick siding of the 2,076-square-foot, two-story home, one of the front shutters and a front window, along with two vehicles in the driveway.
Branson wasn’t at the house, and no one was injured. If the circumstances had been different, the Barrons or their neighbors could have been seriously hurt, Eldridge told the judge.
Welch was arrested about two weeks after the shooting. The first to be arrested was Weston Anglin, who was taken into custody four days after the shooting.
Prosecutors had charged Anglin, who was 16, as an adult, but the judge transferred the case to juvenile court, over their objections, in March. In his findings, the judge described Weston as immature and on medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, further noting that he was attending Alcoholics Anonymous and other programs.
Welch did not testify at Monday’s hearing, but his attorney, Mark Hampton, told the judge that the incident prompted the teen to begin ongoing counseling for anger management and drug abuse, including enrolling in a 10-week “intensive” outpatient drug program.
“He recognizes his problem with drugs … and maintaining his constant sobriety,” Hampton said.
Welch now has a “very good” full-time job where he is well-regarded and attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings at least twice a week.
According to an arrest report, the same night as the shooting, Branson was caught on video stealing Christmas lights, valued at $30, from the Little Rock home of Chris Mayfield.
The incident was caught on video, showing the thief getting out of a Mercedes-Benz SUV, the report said. Branson was identified from the video and charged with misdemeanor theft in July. He has yet to stand trial.
Branson is also currently awaiting trial on felony drug and theft charges. According to court files, he is accused of shoplifting two iPhones from the Apple Store on Feb. 13.
Police reports show he was charged with drug-trafficking and gun charges after his Feb. 23 arrest by Little Rock police, who raided his home with a search warrant at 2105 Durwood Road. Officers reported seizing guns, some of which were stolen, along with suspected marijuana and hydrocodone and Xanax.
Court records show Branson was released on bail on April 16 and that on July 20, he enrolled in a drug rehabilitation program in Austin, Texas, called Serenity Star Recovery.