By Pat Culverhouse
A call of individuals acting erratically inside a local retail store turned into arrests for possession of illegal substances and the confiscation of weapons plus a large quantity of ammunition.
Minden Chief of Police Jared McIver said Shreveport brothers, 41-year-old Matthew Corley Welbourne and 46-year-old Nathaniel Ellis Welbourne face a variety of charges including illegal carrying of weapons in the presence of controlled dangerous substance.
McIver said Lt. Keith King and Sgt. Reece Tewell confronted the two inside Walmart shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday after learning from witnesses that both had been acting strangely and reportedly claiming “people were after them.”
“Lt. King and Sgt. Tewell found the pair inside with a hatchet and a machete they had picked up at the store. Our officers managed to get the items from the suspects and both denied being under the influence of drugs or medication,” McIver said. “But by their actions, our officers suspected they were on something.”
Officers escorted the pair to the parking lot, but neither man would answer questions. Lt. Chris Hammontree and his K9 Tigo were called to conduct an open air sniff of the men’s vehicle, and Tigo reportedly alerted positively.
While searching the vehicle, officers found pills and a substance that tested positive as methamphetamine, along with several syringes. Officers also discovered firearms and a cache of ammunition.
“Inside the vehicle we found a .45 caliber handgun, a .223 semiautomatic rifle, several full magazines for both weapons and a large amount of loose ammunition,” McIver said. “Both weapons had loaded magazines and a live round in the chamber.”
Officers reportedly found 259 rounds of .223 ammunition and 99 rounds for the .45. Much of the ammunition for the rifle was “green tip,” commonly referred to as armor piercing rounds.
Nathaniel Welbourne is charged with disturbing the peace, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of CDS Sch. II (methamphetamine), possession of CDS Sch. III and illegal carrying of weapons in the presence of a CDS. Matthew Welbourne was booked for disturbing the peace, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of CDS Sch. II (methamphetamine) and illegal carrying of weapons in the presence of a CDS.
Both Welbournes reportedly have arrest records in Shreveport and in several jurisdictions outside Louisiana.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
