Kenneth Welch will serve life after being convicted on seven felony counts for shooting into two cars, firing at a sheriff’s deputy, fatally shooting a driver and assaulting a gas station clerk in 2017.
Welch had a history of mental illness, and was on methamphetamines on the days of his crimes.
Welch’s Aug. 26 sentence gives him 115 years to life and life without possibility of parole.
Welch shot into a car going westbound on the 210 Freeway in Rialto March 14, 2017, according to the District Attorney’s Office. His bullet hit an occupant in the leg.
He then exited and re-entered the 210, going eastbound, and shot into another person’s car four times, hitting an occupant in the arm, before driving home.
The next morning, prosecutors said, Welch began following a driver, Mario Figueroa, on the 210 in Highland. Figueroa pulled over on Sixth Street, and Welch pulled up next to him. They talked for 30 seconds before Welch fatally shot Figueroa in the head, the DA’s office said.
Welch then attempted to steal some items from a gas station in Hesperia. When the clerk tried to stop him, Welch punched him.
San Bernardino Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Higgins responded to the clerk’s 911 call about the assault. After the interview with the clerk, as Higgins was leaving the gas station, Welch drove back into the parking lot.
Higgins told Welch to exit the car, and discharged his pepper spray when Welch fired three shots at the deputy, according to the DA’s office. One of the shots hit Higgins, in his protective vest. Higgins retreated to his car and Welch fired seven more times, nearly hitting the deputy, according to the DA’s office.
Welch then returned to his home in Redlands, where he was arrested the next morning. The sheriff’s booking page shows the home was in a mobile home park on Colton Avenue, close to Crafton Park.
He had a loaded Glock 17 on his person when he was arrested, according to the DA’s office.
He eventually admitted to the crimes, according to the DA’s office.
Welch said he had believed that the motorists he shot at were harming women, and that they had signaled to him for help. He also claimed that Figueroa had been waving for him to follow him, and that he believed Higgins was pretending to be a police officer.
He admitted to having a history of schizophrenia, hallucinations and head injuries, and that he heard voices from his car’s radio telling him to follow certain people. In testimony, he said he was high on methamphetamine during the shootings. Detectives confirmed through a blood draw that he had methamphetamine, according to the DA’s office.
His crimes landed him guilty of murder, attempted murder, two counts of shooting at an inhabited car, robbery and two counts of felony possession of a firearm.
“Welch is an example of the type of criminal the special circumstance laws are designed to punish and remove from society,” said prosecutor Justin Crocker, according to a press release.
Welch had a criminal history. In 2002, he served 90 days in county jail for use of a controlled substance. In 2004, he was charged, and later sentenced, to 730 days for receiving stolen property. In 2005, he was charged with misdemeanors for drug and weapon possession, which were dismissed after he pleaded not guilty. In 2011, he received a felony for petty theft, and was sentenced to four years of formal probation. In 2013, he was charged with a misdemeanor for battery, which was dismissed after a not guilty plea, and an infraction for a noise disturbance, which he spent 10 days in county jail for.
Deputy District Attorney Justin Crocker prosecuted.
San Bernardino Superior Judge Debra Harris presided over the trial and sentencing.
Case number FVI17000756.
