Suspect In Shooting Deaths Pleads Not Guilty

The defendant in the double slaying at a Coast Guard communications station in Kodiak made his first court appearance Tuesday. James Wells pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.

Wells is accused in the April deaths of James Hopkins and Richard Belisle on Kodiak Island. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of killing federal officers or employees and related weapons charges.

Charging documents allege that Wells shot the men multiple times and then staged his alibi. According to court documents, he was facing disciplinary action at work before the killings took place. Federal prosecutors say they could seek the death penalty in the case.

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