Off-duty Pentagon cop arrested with at least 5 pounds of cocaine

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

The ACPD issued a press release on Halloween saying its investigators were investigating Welch for possible drug sales based on evidence for which they did not provide details. The investigation is still active, so it’s not uncommon for law enforcement agencies of any kind to restrict information until the investigation is complete. Therefore, in general, not many details were offered on this case, except for the following:

“He was taken into custody at the 1300 block of S. Scott Street (Arlington, VA) on the afternoon of October 28 after detectives observed him purchasing narcotics for distribution. A firearm was seized at the crime scene. A search warrant was subsequently executed at the suspect’s Alexandria home, leading to the seizure of additional quantities of narcotics and firearms. As a result, Alexandria City Police charged Welch with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances (x2) and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances while armed,” – Arlington County Police Department.

Courtesy Arlington County Police Department

These allegations indicate that Welch was arrested with five to ten pounds of cocaine. Of course I emailed the Pentagon to ask them how in the hell of Sam did one of their officers manage to get so much coke when my guy was sober 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 has been placed on administrative leave.”

I asked if this was the first time Welch had been reprimanded for conduct on or off the job.

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

Welch had also previously been arrested at least once in Arlington County. Court records show that Welch pleaded guilty to charges of destroying property valued in excess of $1,000 and disorderly conduct. A separate charge was also filed for failure to pay for a rental vehicle or animal, but no further information was immediately available. I searched cursorily the court records of neighboring counties in Virginia and the court records of Washington DC and found no other records for an Eric Michael Welch.

When asked if they were aware of Welch’s criminal record or whether it’s common practice to allow officers to work with criminal records, the Pentagon declined to comment.

On Wednesday morning, an inmate query at the Arlington County Detention Facility revealed Welch was still incarcerated and being held without attachment.

Courtesy of @welch_fit / Instagram

Interestingly, prior to his arrest, Welch maintained a moderately active Instagram presence dedicated to bodybuilding and fitness, of all things. His name is @welch_fit, but for the sake of full transparency I’m saying this based on a simple image and name comparison as I couldn’t verify directly with Welch that it was the same guy.

He’s a maniac, likes to eat a bowl of torn nails for breakfast, and lists a company called MSF Supplements as a sponsor on 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.