A California man has been charged with sending threats to a Mississippi judge who has a family connection to Nolan Wells’ disappearance and death in July.
The case comes as Wells' family and friends have said they've faced a flood of threats amid the investigation into Wells' death. In a separate case, a woman was accused of making a bomb threat targeted at local officials involved in the investigation.
On July 29, law enforcement officials booked Joseph Dumarce, 27, into the Sacramento County Jail as he faces one felony count for threatening Ashlee Cole, a chancery judge in Mississippi, according to a federal criminal complaint. Cole’s son, Warren Hudson, was friends with Wells.
Wells, 18, went missing while on a boat trip with friends, including
Hudson, to Horn Island, an isolated barrier island in Mississippi. Officials found Wells' body two days later.
The circumstances of Wells' death have been shrouded in mystery. Wells' family has demanded transparency and publicly criticized the investigation, saying they fear his death will be written off as an accidental drowning despite their concerns. The family has launched their own independent investigation and commissioned an independent autopsy.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said investigators didn’t initially believe Wells' death was foul play but added officials continue to investigate.
Felony charges allege graphic threats against judge
In Facebook posts, Cole had commented on the case and said her son is cooperating with law enforcement. Cole previously said she deactivated her social media account because of death threats she received directed to her and her family. She previously shared screenshots of direct messages from a Facebook account that the FBI said belongs to Dumarce, of Sacramento.
Dumarce is accused of sending several Facebook messages to Cole, including allegedly saying he’d send a package that “would blow you away” and that it’s “probably best to have the boys there to see as well,” according to screenshots cited in FBI Special Agent Brodey Gibson’s July 24 affidavit. Dumarce also allegedly said there’d be “So much blood everywhere.”
The FBI traced the Facebook account to several email, CashApp and Google accounts connected with Dumarce and an address in Sacramento, the affidavit said. Additionally, the FBI also identified a phone number consistent with Dumarce’s address that made calls to the Jackson County Chancery Court, where Cole works, on July 11.
The FBI declined to comment. A lawyer for Dumarce wasn’t listed in federal court records, though USA TODAY has reached out to him in custody as well as a phone number listed in court records as belonging to him.
On July 28, a grand jury in Mississippi federal court returned an indictment charging Dumarce with interstate transmission of threatening communication. Court records indicate it carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison. He's held in Sacramento County Jail and is ineligible for bail.
The Sacramento Bee reported Dumarce was arrested in 2019 by Sacramento police on suspicion of exposing himself and then attempting to kidnap a 13-year-old girl outside of a local elementary school. California’s Megan’s Law, which lists sex offenders, indicates he has criminal convictions in 2019 of annoying or molesting a child and, in 2020, of harmful matter sent to induce a minor.
More allegations of threats as Nolan Wells investigation continues
In another case, on July 31, an Ohio woman was taken into custody on suspicion of placing bomb threats in Mississippi after Wells' death. Francine Edwards' arrest was first reported by the Sun Herald.
Officials accuse Edwards of making threats to the George County Chancery Clerk and later to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office on July 23, according to federal court records. Like Dumarce, Edwards is charged with threatening interstate communication in Mississippi federal court. Edwards, 41, is held in the Hamilton County Justice Center without bond, jail logs showed.
Wells' friends have said they’ve received threats as his family investigates his death. Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, has said she’s been harassed, including threatening messages and emails, but also bad reviews at her workplace as a nurse.
Lawyers for Wells’ family reportedly sent letters to his friends, their families and local officials instructing not to delete any records while notifying them litigation is “reasonably anticipated.”
Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Bonnie Bolden, Evan Mealins and Molly Davis
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: People with connections to Nolan Wells allege threats; arrests made
