Lompoc Fire Chief Alicia Welch submitted her retirement to city officials effective July 20, following her recent arrest in SLO County on domestic violence suspicions.
Battalion Chief Scott Nunez was appointed to act as the fire chief for the transition period, Lompoc Public Information Officer Samantha Scroggin said in a statement.
“Chief Welch, who has been in the fire service for more than 31 years, expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to serve the city of Lompoc and the fine individuals of the Lompoc City Fire Department,” Scroggin said. “The city thanks Chief Welch for her leadership, and is grateful for the many contributions she made to the city and fire department during her tenure as Lompoc fire chief. The city wishes Chief Welch the best in her future endeavors.”
Welch became Lompoc’s fire chief on Aug. 17, 2021—a little less than a year ago—following her time as Golden Colorado’s fire chief. As the city’s first female fire chief, she wanted various infrastructure improvements for Lompoc’s fire stations, updated uniforms, and modernized radio equipment. She also proposed that the Lompoc Fire Department become a part of the regional fire-centric dispatch center to improve emergency response times, according to previous Sun reporting.
But Welch’s trajectory with the department changed in late May. SLO County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to respond to a domestic dispute involving Welch and her partner on May 29 in a Cambria hotel on Moonstone Beach Drive, Sheriff Public Information Officer Tony Cipolla told the Sun via email.
“It was reported that the two women staying at the hotel had gotten into a verbal argument, which escalated to a physical altercation. The victim, who lives part-time with the suspect, says she was struck in the face,” Cipolla wrote.
The 55-year-old was booked on suspicion of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, taken to the SLO County Jail and placed on administrative leave at the department. On June 14, Welch had her mandatory court appearance at the SLO County Superior Court, but the SLO County District Attorney’s Office decided not to prosecute “due to insufficiency of the evidence,” Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth said.
“Criminal charges cannot be filed unless our office believes the charges can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, to a unanimous jury, with the admissible evidence and considering all reasonably foreseeable defenses,” Dobroth explained. “Based on the totality of the investigation presented to our office, that standard could not be met.”
Welch is no longer in jail at this time, he added.
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2022.