Crime & Courts

Trial of James Wells for Kodiak double homicide begins in Anchorage

The parties in the trial of James Michael Wells chose their 15-member jury Monday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Anchorage. Wells, 63, who was working for the U.S. Coast Guard on Kodiak, stands accused of the premeditated murders of two coworkers.

He faces charges for allegedly shooting 41-year-old James Hopkins and 51-year-old Richard Belisle. Authorities never found the murder weapon, a key piece of missing evidence the defense says raises doubts about who committed the murders.

Wells appeared in court wearing plain clothes, a break from the colored jumpsuit issued to inmates at Anchorage Correctional Center, where he is currently being held. His long, white beard fell against the collar of a light blue button-down dress shirt. Wells' eyes were tired, but he otherwise appeared to be in good health.

Nearly 60 prospective jurors filed into the courtroom early Monday, some dressed for spring, others bundled up in winter jackets. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks. Court adjourned early, and the parties planned to give opening statements Tuesday.

Among those chosen -- most of whom come from Anchorage along with several who live in Dillingham, Bethel, Wasilla and Homer -- to decide Wells' fate, one has a military background, 10 years with the U.S. Army. Other careers represented on the jury include a director of behavioral health at a local nonprofit, a nurse practitioner, a construction worker and a state park ranger.

Head U.S. Attorney in Alaska Karen Loeffler is overseeing Wells' trial, a culmination of more than a year of investigation by the FBI and a subsequent plethora of case filings.

Jurors sat as U.S. Superior Court Judge Ralph Beistline slowly went through a list of questions meant to weed out some candidates. They were asked about their past run-ins with criminals, and a handful said they'd had a car stolen or their apartment burglarized. A couple mentioned assaults. Another question included whether or not they knew any potential witnesses, after Loeffler read through a hefty list of names. The questions continued into the afternoon.

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On the morning of April 12, 2012, two U.S. Coast Guard members were gunned down while at work on the Coast Guard's base on Kodiak Island. The FBI showed up on the secluded island to find a culprit for what it quickly called a double homicide.

The victims, Hopkins and Belisle, were working in what is called the "rigger shop" near a communications station on base. Wells also worked at the shop as a civilian, though he had yet to arrive that spring morning. Still, shortly after the start of their shift at 7 a.m., two men were found dead.

Ten months would pass, and those investigating -- the Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and the FBI -- offered little new information. Life on "The Rock" went on with two fewer residents. Law enforcement said nothing about Wells.

According to local memory and for as long as records have been kept, there's been only one other double homicide on the island. Robert Shepard shot two men in 1988, pleaded no contest and ended up with four and half years in prison after arguing the killings were the result of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Still, the FBI, which took lead on the investigation, told residents statewide and on Kodiak they weren't in danger from an unknown killer.

Eyes were already on Wells, however. His house was searched after the shootings, and the vehicles of James and Nancy Wells were towed and searched, then returned. Those vehicles, a white 2002 Dodge Ram truck and a blue 2001 Honda CR-V, were spotted on the base around the time of the fatal shooting.

Tense work environment?

More information seeped out after Wells was arrested on a federal search warrant more than a year ago.

According to the indictment against him, Wells drove the Dodge past the Coast Guard base's main gate, in view of a camera, and parked at the Kodiak State Airport, where his wife's Honda was also parked. He drove the Honda to the rigger shop and allegedly committed the murders.

The indictment alleged the motive for the killings was a tense work environment -- there were problems with Wells' job performance; he was reprimanded several times in the years leading up to the murders. He had trouble controlling a bad temper, the affidavit contends.

The gun that killed Wells' colleagues was never located. He owned several guns, investigators found, but none matched those used against Hopkins and Belisle.

Four days following Wells' arrest, on Feb. 19, 2013, he pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts: two counts of first-degree murder on a federal property, two more for murdering a U.S. employee or officer and two gun charges.

During a press conference after his arraignment, Loeffler said the maximum sentence the allegedly disgruntled federal employee could receive was life in prison, but her office would mull pursuing the death penalty. In August, Loeffler ruled out the death penalty. Federal prosecutors declined to say why.

Six strands of evidence

In its trial brief filed in March, the government wrote that there are "six strands of evidence essential to understanding the case" against Wells.

First, he had premeditated the murders with insider knowledge, the affidavit says. Wells was familiar with the layout of the rigger shop and the schedules of his coworkers.

A timeline of Wells' movements shows he was at the Coast Guard base on April 12, the affidavit says. Further, he was on the base for 34 minutes "during the exact time of the murders."

Prosecutors are using Wells words against him, as well. In the defendant's "false alibi," the affidavit says, he claims he was headed to work when he noticed a flat tire on the Dodge, then he drove home to take care of the flat. The government says he wouldn't have needed more than a half hour to stop and check the tire, and tools were available on the base to fix it. Further, experts found a nail had allegedly been manually inserted into the tire.

Wells' motives are clear, his opponents argue. "Wells' coworkers and chain-of-command indicate the murders were the culmination of a year full of conflict and disciplinary actions, including discussion of replacing Wells," the affidavit says.

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The government's fifth strand of evidence is the blue Honda, Wells' wife's vehicle. Nancy was in Anchorage at the time of the murders and left SUV at the airport. The airport is between Wells' home and the Coast Guard base, "perfectly positioned for Wells to switch vehicles," which ensured his regular truck wouldn't be spotted near the rigger shop. Also, witnesses allegedly said the Honda moved during Nancy's trip.

And lastly, no one else had a reason, means or opportunity to kill the men unnoticed, the affidavit says.

More than 20 experts will testify

"There (are) no eyewitnesses to the homicides. There is no confession. There is no murder weapon," a federal public defender wrote in a trial brief.

In the absence of physical evidence against Wells, the defense argues, the government has proposed testimony from more than 20 experts during trial. Prosecutors are trying to fill in the missing gaps of the FBI's investigation, the affidavit says.

The defense also argues there are unaddressed legal issues, including the testimony of suspects besides Wells who "had the opportunity, ability and motive to commit the crime." The government has opposed the introduction of evidence by the defense that could pin the crime on someone else.

Wells' defense moved to exclude the testimony of multiple witnesses, including a psychologist, a man who works with tires and two crime scene experts, among others, the affidavit says.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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