Eight days after being placed on probation, Harshaw man arrested again 

STAR JOURNAL REPORT

An Oneida County man who has spent time in prison following an hours-long standoff at his home in 2016, and was released on probation Thursday, April 11 following a new plea bargain, is back behind bars.

Kenneth S. Welsh, 62, was arrested April 19 after allegedly making a threat to a social worker. According to the criminal complaint, Welsh was informed by an Aspirus social worker that Comfort Care Services and Hospice were terminating care to Welsh’s terminally ill wife. He reportedly was upset about that and indicated to the social worker that he wanted to appeal the decision, allegedly saying, “You all know if this appeal goes anyway but favorable to Mary, I will wreak havoc on you all.”

Welsh’s probation officer, upon hearing from the Comfort Care manager, contacted the Oneida County Sheriff’s office, the complaint states, and requested he be picked on a probation hold for this threat.

It was also noted that Ascension Hospital was on lockdown Thursday as a result of the threats.

Welsh was arrested near his Harshaw home Thursday. He appeared via video in Oneida County Circuit Court, and was charged with making terrorist threats, a class I felony. Welsh remains jailed on a $20,000 cash bond and is scheduled for an adjourned initial appearance Friday.

Welsh was in the news when he was arrested April 19, 2016 following an altercation with his wife, Mary K. Butler, where she allegedly fired a gun and hit Welsh in the arm. It was believed Butler was acting in self defense.  The incident involved multiple law enforcement agencies and Oneida County’s Special Response Team.

His conviction in a plea agreement in September, 2016, which included a three-year prison sentence was vacated in November, 2017. Welsh accepted a new plea agreement earlier this month, in which he pleaded no contest to an amended charge of injury by negligent use of a dangerous weapon. His 3 ½ year prison sentence was imposed and stayed by Oneida County Judge Michael H. Bloom, who placed him on probation for three years.