A third person has now been arrested over alleged threats linked to the investigation into Nolan Wells' death. The latest arrest comes as authorities continue looking into threats made against witnesses and others connected to the high-profile Mississippi case, even though no one has been charged in Wells' death.
Who is the latest person arrested?
Edward James Porter, 40, was arrested on charges of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce, as first reported by the Sun Herald on Tuesday, August 4.
According to report, Porter, of Berwyn, Illinois, is charged in a federal criminal complaint with transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce to kill or injure two witnesses in the ongoing state investigation into Wells' death.
According to a complaint by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Christopher Kloc. Porter made threats to two witnesses through phone calls and text messages on Friday. Porter allegedly told a witness he would "come kill" them and their family, then sent the witness their home address to show he knew where they lived.
Porter is also accused of calling a second witness and threatening to kill and injure that person, with the complaint alleging he threatened to kill the witness, cut up the body, and stuff the remains into a suitcase. Investigators subpoenaed records from Boost Mobile and identified the phone number and IP address allegedly used to make the calls and send the messages.
{{/usCountry}}Porter is also accused of calling a second witness and threatening to kill and injure that person, with the complaint alleging he threatened to kill the witness, cut up the body, and stuff the remains into a suitcase. Investigators subpoenaed records from Boost Mobile and identified the phone number and IP address allegedly used to make the calls and send the messages.
{{/usCountry}}Two others arrested on similar charges
Porter is the third person arrested on charges connected to the case. On July 30, Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, a 27-year-old Sacramento, California resident, was arrested on a charge of interstate transmission of threatening communication for allegedly threatening Judge Ashlee Cole, the stepmother of Wells' friend Warren Hudson, who was on Horn Island with him. Dumarce is accused of messaging Cole on Facebook, claiming he had sent her a package that “would blow you away,” as per USA Today.
Michelle Francine Edwards of Cincinnati, Ohio, has also been arrested on the same charge after allegedly calling the George County clerk's office several times in July and making bomb threats, including saying “the clock is ticking,” according to a criminal complaint cited by the Sun Herald.
According to reports, Bart Edmiston Jr, one of Nolan Wells' friends, also received what his lawyer described as a credible death threat against him and his family. Because false accusations have been made against him online, Edmiston, 21, plans to file a defamation lawsuit. Those accusations began after his name appeared in a Mississippi Department of Marine Resources report, which was created after investigators downloaded GPS data from his boat.
Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old student-athlete, disappeared on Horn Island, Mississippi, after celebrating the Fourth of July with friends. His friends returned to the mainland without him, saying he chose to stay on the island, while his cellphone was brought back with the group. Wells' body was found on the northwest end of Horn Island on July 6. No one has been charged in connection with his disappearance or death, and the investigation remains ongoing.