Mississippi investigators say bomb threats, death threats tied to Nolan Wells probe prompted arrests

Digital Media Manager

JACKSON COUNTY, Miss. —

At least three people are facing charges in separate federal cases in which they are accused of making threats connected to the Nolan Wells death investigation.

Edward James Porter, of Berwyn, Illinois, is facing federal charges filed in Mississippi of transmitting threatening communications.

According to federal court records, Porter is accused of threatening to kill or injure two witnesses in the Jackson County investigation into Wells’ death following a Fourth of July boat trip to Horn Island.

According to records obtained by ABC News, Wells chose to stay behind on the island with a girl he met when his friends went back to the mainland. Wells never made it back. His body was found near Horn Island two days later.

Christopher Kloc, an agent with the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, said in a federal affidavit that on July 31, Porter is accused of calling the two witnesses and saying he was going to kill them and their families.

A man from Sacramento, California, and a Cincinnati, Ohio, woman are facing similar federal charges.

Michelle Edwards is accused of making bomb threats during more than 20 calls to the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and minutes later, 10 similar calls to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce is accused of sending a threatening direct message on Facebook to a Jackson County Chancery Court judge. According to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Brodey Gibson, the message threatened to blow up the judge’s office.