By admin 
Two people indicted for making threats to kill and injure witnesses connected to the investigation into Nolan Xavier Wells’ death had their first court appearance in federal court in Gulfport on Monday.
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Attorney Tyler Cox and Jackson County Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole attended the hearing of suspect, Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, 27, of Sacramento, California.
Cox is representing three of the young men who were with Wells on July 4 over alleged defamatory comments.
Dumarce is charged with transmitting messages to harm or kill the judge and her children, including her stepson, Warren Hudson, one of the teens who spent July 4 on Horn Island with Wells before he went missing.
Wells’ body was found two days later off the northwest tip of Horn Island.
After the hearing, Cox said, “I’m just glad the U.S. Attorney’s Office is taking it seriously.”
Agents with the FBI Safe Streets Task Force identified Dumarce, 27, who used the username “yaeyae962,” by tracing email IP addresses associated with the account, including [email protected], along with a date of birth, phone number and street addresses linked to the account.
Investigators said the information resulted in the identity of Dumarce as the user behind the “yaeyae962” account that sent the messages to Cole.
The charging document also cited one of the many messages Dumarce sent to Cole, including some previously cited by Cole that included threats with pictures of her children.
Threats to kill, cut up body
A second suspect, Edward James Porter, 32, of Berwyn, Illinois, near Chicago, appeared before a judge in federal court for his arraignment on the same offense, but in a case involving threats to another.
Both Dumarce and Porter are charged with a felony offense that carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
Both pleaded not guilty and remain jailed without bond.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bradley Rath presided over the hearings.
The judge set Dumarce’s trial on the three-week calendar beginning on Nov. 2 before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden.
The judge set Porter’s trial on the four-week calendar beginning on Oct. 5. The trial is set before U.S. District Judge Taylor McNeel.
According to the records filed in the case, Porter is accused of making threats to kill the father of another friend of Wells, Bart Edmiston Jr.
According to the federal agent investigating the case, Porter sent text messages saying he had the family’s home address and included the address in the messages.
Porter also threatened to kill the father, cut up his body and put the remains in a suitcase.
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Florida man charged
Another man, Brandon Ephriam Washington, of Jacksonville, Florida, is accused of transmitting threatening messages to kidnap and injure Bart Edmiston Jr.
Edmiston Jr., 21, was a friend of Wells. Both he and his father received threatening calls or messages.
Edmiston Jr. 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.
Washington is expected to face prosecution in federal court in Wyoming, where the alleged crime occurred.
Attorney Russell Latino, who is also the founder and chief executive officer of the online news site Magnolia Tribune, is representing the Edmiston family and confirmed the arrest.
The Edmiston family 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.
Death threats from Ohio woman
A fourth suspect, Michelle Francine Edwards, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is facing the same federal offense.
According to investigators, Edwards called the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office at least 21 times in an eight-minute period, during which she threatened employees, making statements including: “Do not go outside,” “The clock is ticking,” and “Die.” Authorities allege Edwards also made a bomb threat against the George County courthouse during the barrage of calls.
In addition, Edwards is accused repeatedly calling the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department making a bomb threat.
Investigation ongoing
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 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, prompting other threats to file civil action in the case.
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