Former Wesleyan football player to avoid prison in drug case
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A former Wesleyan University football player is expected to avoid prison time, despite a conviction on charges he provided drugs to fellow members of the team.
Ryan Welch of Salem, Massachusetts pleaded guilty in March to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Bridgeport.
Prosecutors are recommending he be sentenced to 12 months of home confinement.
They say Welch last year provided up to 20 teammates with a hallucinogenic concoction that became known as "Welchie's Special," which was often mixed into a sports drink.
The federal investigation began last October, when emergency crews responded to a student at a dormitory who went into convulsions and had to be hospitalized after taking the drugs.
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