ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 13, 1996 TAG: 9610140075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FAIRFAX
SOURCE: Associated Press
Fairfax County's new chief auditor is facing criminal charges for allegedly puncturing the tires of a teen-age girl's Volvo he said cut him off in traffic.
Hernan G. Welch, 47, was charged Friday with destruction of private property, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. He was hired Sept.30 by the Board of Supervisors.
Welch denied the charge. He said the student forced his car off the street in McLean and that he later went to the Langley High School parking lot to take down the car's license number. But he said he didn't touch the car.
``We will go to court,'' he said. ``I want to prove my case.''
The news of Welch's arrest - coming in the same week that supervisors debated whether to fire the county executive and that police announced an investigation into alleged government bid-rigging - evoked disbelief from county officials.
``This is the week from hell in Fairfax,'' said Supervisor Sharon Bulova. ``I am just astounded.''
Bulova and other supervisors said they would dismiss Welch if he were convicted. Welch said Friday that he plans to offer to resign his $92,267-a-year job, not because he's guilty, but so ``the board won't be embarrassed.''
Welch, who most recently worked as a financial analyst and consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, has not yet started his work in Fairfax.
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB