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Press Release

Poplar Man Sentenced For Killing One And Injuring Two In Car Crash

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana

The United States Attorney's Office announced that TYRONE DEAN WELCH, 27, of Poplar, was sentenced to a term of 46 months imprisonment and three years supervised release during a federal court session in Great Falls, Montana, on May 23, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris, after his conviction for involuntary manslaughter and assault.

WELCH admitted to crashing a car while under the influence of drugs, which resulted in the death of one of his passengers and serious bodily injury to the two others. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss told the Court that Welch had been using methamphetamine and had not slept in several days at the time of the wreck. Welch admitted to falling asleep at the wheel because he was coming down off methamphetamine. The car drifted across the road, struck a reflector pole, rolled several times, and landed in a ditch. One victim was found dead at the scene. The other two were severely injured as a result of the crash. Welch pleaded guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter and two counts of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The Court sentenced Welch to 46 months of imprisonment on each count to run concurrently, with three years of supervised release to follow. Because there is no parole in the federal system, the truth in sentencing guidelines mandate that Welch will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Welch does have the opportunity to shorten the term of custody by earning credit for good behavior. However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice Criminal Investigation.

Updated January 14, 2015