Two people from out of state accused of threatening to kill or hurt witnesses in the Nolan Wells death investigation appeared in federal court in Mississippi this week.
California resident Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce and Illinois resident Edward James Porter were indicted Monday and are scheduled to stand trial this fall in Gulfport. Both are charged with a felony that has a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
Both pleaded not guilty. Federal prosecutors have argued for Dumarce and Porter to remain in detention.
Porter’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 5 with U.S. District Judge Taylor McNeel. Dumarce’s trial is set for Nov. 2 before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden.
Jackson County Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole, one of the targets of Dumarce’s alleged threats, attended the hearing. Dumarce, 27, allegedly threatened to bomb her office, writing in social media messages and comments that the judge should “ask god for forgiveness,” according to court records.
Dumarce, who is from Sacramento, also is accused of threatening Cole’s children, including her stepson Warren Hudson.
Hudson traveled to Horn Island by boat with Wells and other friends on July 4 and returned to Ocean Springs without Wells. Friends have told investigators that Wells chose to stay behind and said he would get a ride back to the mainland. Wells was found dead July 6 off the barrier island.
Accompanying Cole at the hearing was attorney Tyler Cox, who is representing Hudson and two of Wells’ other friends and said he plans to file a defamation lawsuit against the Rev. Al Sharpton. The men’s legal team argues that Sharpton falsely accused them of playing a role in Wells’ death. Sharpton denies defaming the men, whose names he did not know, when he asked them to come forward during a virtual prayer vigil.
Porter, who is from Berwyn, Illinois, outside Chicago, allegedly threatened to kill the father of
Bart Edmiston Jr., another friend of Wells, the Sun Herald reported.
The 32-year-old sent text messages saying he knew where they lived and included their address, according to court records. Porter also allegedly threatened to cut Edmiston’s father up and put him into a suitcase.
Edmiston, a former high school football teammate of Wells, was at Horn Island the day he went missing. He towed the boat of Wells’ friends back to the mainland after it took on water. In a previous statement, Edmiston denied he had anything to do with Wells’ death and said he plans to sue those spreading misinformation about him.
Two other out-of-state people have also been charged with making death threats in the Wells case.
Jacksonville, Florida, resident Brandon Ephraim Washington allegedly sent threatening calls and messages to two witnesses, according to court records. The attorney representing the Edmiston family told the Sun Herald that Bart and his father were the targets of the threats.
Washington is expected to face prosecution in Wyoming federal court, where the alleged crime happened. Edmiston is attending college in that state.
Michelle Edwards of Cincinnati is accused of calling in bomb threats to the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department on July 23. The sheriff’s office is leading Wells’ death investigation, and George and Jackson counties are both in Chancery Judge Cole’s district.
Edwards used a blocked phone number when she called the clerk’s office 21 times, according to the criminal complaint. During the calls, she allegedly said, “Do not go outside,” “the clock is ticking,” and “die.”
Hence then, the article about trial dates set for those accused of making threats in nolan wells case was published today ( ) and is available on Mississippi Today ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Trial dates set for those accused of making threats in Nolan Wells’ case )
Also on site :