KEY WEST, September 13, 2019 – A Key West man with a history of stealing is off to Florida State Prison after pleading out in the latest case against him.
On September 10 before Monroe County Judge Mark Wilson, Terence Welch, 58, pleaded no contest to felony petit theft with priors and was given 366 days in prison. Assistant State Attorney Christina Cory represented the state.
Welch was arrested on December 21, 2018, at the Chevron convenience store across U.S. 1 from the Key West Golf Club on Stock Island. A clerk there told Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies that Welch was in the store twice that night “taking items off the shelves and putting them in his pockets.”
Welch was found to have stolen a can of Four Lokos beer, a bag of pretzel snacks, jerky chew, a beef stick and a package of sausage. The combined value was $12.43.
Welch was previously convicted of theft in Monroe County in 2008, 2014 and 2016.