By admin 
A federal grand jury in Mississippi has indicted an Illinois man on a felony charge of threatening to injure or kill witnesses in connection with the ongoing investigation into the death of Nolan Xavier Wells.
Read more West Nile confirmed in Midlands, SC health officials declare outbreak
Edward James Porter, 32, of Berwyn, Illinois, was indicted on a federal charge of transmitting a threatening message in interstate commerce to kill Bart Edmiston Jr., according to court documents. The grand jury returned the indictment in August.
The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus up to three years of supervised release.
Edmiston, 21, was a friend of Wells.
Wells, an 18-year-old student-athlete from Ocean Springs, went missing after traveling with friends on three boats to Horn Island, about 10 miles off the Mississippi coast, on the Fourth of July. Two days later, Wells’ body was found off the northwest tip of Horn Island.
His friends returned to the mainland without Wells, saying he stayed behind to talk to a girl. The friends returned with Wells’ phone and keys.
Edmiston helped tow the boat Wells had traveled to the island on after a malfunctioning bilge pump prompted a call to Sea Tow, a membership-based marine assistance company that provides towing and other support to boaters.
The friends ultimately canceled the request for assistance from Sea Tow, according to the company, after Edmiston was able to tow the boat a distance.
Edmiston is planning to pursue a defamation lawsuit over false accusations made against him after his name appeared in a Mississippi Department of Marine Resources report following the downloading of GPS data from his boat.
Porter was first arrested July 31 on a federal criminal complaint. He is accused of committing the crime in Jackson County, in the Southern District of Mississippi, and elsewhere.
According to the federal agent investigating the case, Porter made the threats by phone and in text messages.
The agent said Porter also claimed in text messages that he had the family’s home address and sent a message containing the address to the family.
The Edmiston family’s attorney, Russell Latino, said Porter also threatened to kill another relative, cut up the person’s body and stuff the remains in a suitcase.
Read more Sweet tea, soda and candy ban for SC food stamp purchases delayed. Here’s why
Porter was initially held on a criminal complaint pending indictment. More charges could follow.
Since his arrest, the Sun Herald reviewed public records and found that Porter had a history of arrests in Illinois that included charges of domestic violence, assault and violating protection orders, among others.
Porter was initially granted bond by a federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois after his July arrest, but a federal judge in Mississippi blocked his release and has since ordered him held without bond.
Porter is one of three people accused so far of threatening to harm or kill friends of Wells.
In addition to Porter, a Sacramento, California, man and a Cincinnati, Ohio, woman were arrested in separate federal cases accusing them of threatening to injure or kill people connected to the Wells investigation.
Others threatened include Jackson County Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole, members of her family, and others associated with the case. Cole’s stepson, Warren Hudson, was among a group of friends who spent July 4 with Wells before he disappeared.
Since Wells’ death, his parents, Elmore and Christine Wonsley, hired civil rights attorney, Ben Crump, to do an independent investigation into Wells death.
An independent autopsy ruled the manner and cause of death are undetermined and inconclusive, according to Crump. He said the forensic pathologist could not rule out foul play pending further testing.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is heading up the death investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office’s autopsy findings are completed, but Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said the results and other information in the case will remain sealed pending a grand jury review to determine if any criminal wrongdoing occurred.
Since Wells’ death, speculation has been rampant on social media about Wells’ death, prompting other threats to file civil action in the case.
Read more Two teenagers killed when car crashes into trees, South Carolina officials say