Accused meth dealer faces over 40 years in prison

By Patrick Lynn

A Wausau man faces more than 40 years in prison if he is convicted on drug-related charges following an early spring search of his Stevens Point residence.

Matthew P. Welch, 37, was arrested in April with his girlfriend, Kayla Mosey, after detectives from the Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force conducted a search of the couple’s Michigan Ave. residence. The woman’s five-year-old child also reportedly lived with the couple, according to the criminal complaint, but was not home at the time of the search.

Mosey, 29, was sentenced on related charges in November to 12 months in jail, with Huber work privileges. A prison sentence and extended supervision were imposed and stayed.

While searching the home, investigators from the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office found a ziplock baggie containing 17.5 grams of methamphetamine inside a bedroom dresser, the complaint said. Two additional ziplock baggies containing a total of 47.5 grams of meth was found under the couple’s mattress. Various drug paraphernalia, packaging materials, and multiple cell phones were also found in the home, and messages relating to drug sales were found on both defendants’ phones. Detectives also found a “large sum” amount of cash in the residence.

Welch, whose current address is listed in court records as being on Imm St. in Wausau, was previously convicted for possession of THC in 2005 from a Waukesha Co., and has a Marathon Co. conviction for misappropriate of identification in 2014. Welch also has pending bail-jumping charge in Portage Co., and prosecutors have filed addition drug-related charges against him in Marathon Co.

Welch is currently charged with possession with intent to deliver more than 50 grams, which carries fines up to $100,000 and a maximum 40-year prison sentence. The second charge, maintaining a drug trafficking place, carries a maximum three-and-a-half year sentence. Possession of drug paraphernalia comes with a possible 30-day sentence and a $500 fine.

Welch remains behind bars on $1,000 cash bond and returns to court Jan. 14.