Coast Guard technician sentenced for murdering 2 co-workers

By DAN JOLING
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A U.S. Coast Guard antenna technician convicted of murdering two co-workers in 2012 at a Kodiak, Alaska, communications station has been sentenced to life in prison. Sixty-eight-year-old James Wells was convicted in October of killing Electrician’s Mate First Class James Hopkins and Richard Belisle, a civilian. Prosecutors say Wells resented their growing influence in the shop. Wells maintains his innocence. Prosecutors say no one other than Wells could have escaped detection by security cameras, committed the murders, shot the two men and fled within five minutes. Prosecutors say Wells concocted a false alibi that was disproved by investigators.