Suspect in Shooting Deaths Pleads Not Guilty

The defendant in the double slaying at a Coast Guard communications station in Alaska made his first court appearance Tuesday.

Photo Courtesy: U.S. Coast Guard

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by MARK THIESSEN, Associated Press

Story Created: Feb 19, 2013 at 5:28 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Feb 19, 2013 at 5:28 PM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - The defendant in the double slaying at a Coast Guard communications station in Alaska made his first court appearance Tuesday.

James Wells of Kodiak 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.

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