James Michael Wells, the Kodiak man accused of the murder of two of his co-workers at Air Station Kodiak Coast Guard base, pleaded Not Guilty at his arraignment yesterday.

Wells is accused of murdering Coast Guard Electrician’s Mate First Class James Hopkins and retired Chief Boatswain’s Mate Richard Belisle. There are six charges in all leveled at Wells. He is being charged with two counts of First-Degree Murder, two counts of Murder of a Federal Employee or Officer and two counts of Possession and Use of a Firearm in Relation to a Crime of Violence according to the Indictment.

Alaska State Troopers that responded to the scene found the two men dead at the station from gunshot wounds from a .44 handgun shortly after they arrived to work at 7 am on April 12 of 2012.

The weapon used in the killings has not been found. When asked about the weapons that he owned, Wells told investigators that he owned a .45 caliber ACP pistol and a 7 mm Magnum rifle. When investigators searched his house however, they found that he had seven rifles, three shotguns as well as the .45 caliber ansd a .44 magnum Ruger. None off the weapons found in his home was the weapon used in the crimes.

But, one witness in the indictment testified that they had been hunting with Wells, and that Wells had a silver handgun with him on that occasion. That weapon was not found at the Wells residence during the search.

Within days of the murders, investigators began looking for two vehicles, a white 2002 Dodge Ram pickup and a Blue 2001 Honda CR-V. It would be found that Wells owned two vehicles that matched that description.

When asked about the day in question by investigators, Wells stated that he had gotten a flat while on the way to work that morning. Cameras at the main gate captured his white pickup truck on video at 6:48 am going north. The vehicle was once again seen on the same camera traveling south at 7:22 am. Wells said that he discovered he had run over a nail then went home to retrieve a spare and a jack.

When running time tests from the time the vehicle was seen on the camera the first time and the time it was seen traveling south back towards Well’s home, investigators determined that Wells needed about 6 to 10 minutes to carry out that task. But, according to the video, the time lapse was 34 minutes.

Investigators believe that Wells drove to the Comfort Inn near the state airport, where he switched cars and drove the Honda to the location where he committed the crimes before driving back and retrieving his pickup and driving back home where he set up his alibi. A witness saw both vehicles at the Comfort Inn the morning of the murders.

When Wells arrived back home, he placed calls to several of his co-workers to inform them that he would be late for work because he had run over a nail and had a flat.

But, investigators determined that the nail in the tire was shot into the tire with a nail gun and that the tire had not been driven on after it was inserted into the tire.

Investigators say that the person who committed the crimes knew the layout of the area, and also knew how to avoid being seen on surveillance cameras approaching or entering the rigging shop on the base.

There will be a bail hearing in the Wells case on Monday.

There has been no determination as yet whether the death penalty will be sought for the murders.