Chief of Police James Albert Welch

James Albert Welch

Chief of Police James Welch was fatally injured when a booby-trapped still exploded in York County while he and several federal prohibition agents were destroying it.

They had located the still in a secret cavern below a farmhouse near the Cedar Grove School near Lewisberry.

His wounds were initially not thought to be that serious. Because Chief Welch had not fully recovered from being shot while making an arrest one year earlier complications with his condition resulted. He died in the Harrisburg Hospital one week later after the blast.

Chief Welch was survived by his wife and two children.