Two Oklahoma City men, LARRY WELCH, 29, and JACOB MADISON, 24, are headed down a familiar but grim path once more, as they have both entered guilty pleas to charges of illegal possession of a firearm following previous felony convictions. The admission of guilt came before a federal court, shoring yet another chapter in their extensive history of criminal activities.
It was on April 7, when Oklahoma City Police Department officers rushed to a reported shooting at an apartment complex. Witnesses at the scene, who had earlier been engaged in an altercation with the suspects, identified Welch and Madison as the shooters. Hiding in a residential backyard shed on a nearby property, both men were apprehended by authorities, with the respective firearms in tow, reported to have been used in the confrontation where, thankfully, no one was injured.
A federal Grand Jury saw fit to indict the two on May 6, underscoring a truth hard and cold—neither man was stranger to the justice system. Welch's rap sheet is stamped with convictions ranging from possession of a firearm after a felony conviction to feloniously pointing a firearm. Similarly, Madison had faced the gavel for offenses like second-degree burglary and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, among others, according to public records.
Facing the prospect of up to 15 years each in federal prison and fines reaching $250,000, both Welch and Madison conceded to their wrongdoing. "Both admitted they possessed a firearm despite their previous felony convictions," the U.S. Attorney's Office intimated. The investigation leading to these charges was spearheaded by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in tandem with the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the case is presently prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laney Ellis, an attorney whose position is funded by a federal grant aimed to curb violent crime in the city.
