A fourth person has been arrested in connection with alleged threats targeting people tied to the investigation into Nolan Wells’ death.
Brandon Ephriam Washington, 30, of Jacksonville, Florida, was arrested August 12 and charged with transmitting an interstate threat to kidnap or injure Bart Edmiston Jr., a 21-year-old friend of Wells who now plays football at the University of Wyoming, according to records obtained by the Sun Herald.
Edmiston and his father have received threatening calls and messages allegedly from Washington and Edward James Porter, another man facing federal charges over threats tied to the Wells investigation.
Washington appeared in federal court in Florida following his arrest. A judge released him on a personal recognizance bond with conditions that include regular reporting to pretrial services and a prohibition against contacting Edmiston directly or indirectly without his attorney present.
Washington is expected to face prosecution in federal court in Wyoming, where the alleged crime occurred.
The arrest comes as authorities investigate a series of alleged threats against people connected to the Wells case.
Edward James Porter, of Berwyn, Illinois, was indicted in August on a federal charge of transmitting a threatening message in interstate commerce after allegedly threatening to kill Edmiston’s father, according to WLOX News. Porter has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed without bond pending trial.
Two other people have also been arrested in separate federal cases.
According to The Guardian, Michelle Francine Edwards of Cincinnati is charged with transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce after allegedly making repeated threatening calls to government offices in Mississippi.
Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce of Sacramento faces the same charge after allegedly sending a threatening Facebook message to Jackson County Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole, whose son was among the friends who spent July 4 with Wells.
Wells was reported missing July 4 after traveling with friends to Horn Island, about 10 miles off the Mississippi Coast. His body was found two days later.
The official state autopsy has been completed, but its findings have not been publicly released.
No one has been charged in connection with Nolan’s death, and the investigation into Wells’ death remains active and ongoing.
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