Victoria, British Columbia – Two people sought on charges stemming from a standoff in which a man was shot to death in Colorado in 2004 have been arrested on northern Vancouver Island, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Michael John Welch, 32, and Lori Romero, 35, were arrested Saturday in Zeballos after their arrival in the small, isolated town raised suspicion, RCMP Sgt. Lyle Gelinas said. With them were their 15-year-old son and another teenage boy.
Welch and Romero are charged in Colorado with assaulting a Larimer County, sheriff’s sergeant and failure to appear in court, and Welch also is charged with possession of a dangerous weapon.
Warrants for the couple were issued last week after they failed to appear for a pretrial court hearing on charges stemming stems from a standoff in which Welch’s father, Michael Welch Sr., 53, was killed by sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Lobert in Wellington, on Nov. 2, 2004. Their trial, expected to last five days, was scheduled for Jan. 24.
The standoff developed after Romero was pulled over while driving with the two Welches on Interstate 25 and was told by a Colorado State Patrol trooper that her license was suspended.
When the trooper asked whether anyone else in the car had a valid license, Welch Jr., who was on the county’s most-wanted list for gun and drug charges filed earlier in 2004, gave a false name, investigators have said.
When Welch Jr. was asked to lift the back of his shirt so the trooper could check for an identifying tattoo, Romero drove away and a high-speed chase ended at the family’s home north of Wellington. In the ensuing standoff, investigators said, One shot was fired from inside the house but no one was hit.
Welch Sr. was shot when he emerged and point a rifle at officers. The other two surrendered and were arrested after a 14-year-old boy in the house was allowed to leave.
