Judge steps aside in UI student shooting case
MOSCOW, Idaho – The judge overseeing the trial in the slaying of a University of Idaho student has stepped down at an attorney’s request.
Second District Judge John Stegner appointed Judge John Bradbury to take his place. Stegner stepped down after Charles Kovis – the court-appointed attorney of defendant Matthew Wells II – moved to disqualify him, arguing Stegner had connections to the University of Idaho that could cause a conflict of interest.
Wells, 27, of Seattle, is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the Sept. 19 shooting death of 19-year-old football player Eric McMillan.
The move delayed until next week Wells’ arraignment. His 25-year-old brother, James Wells, is also charged with the same crimes and remains in the Whitman County Jail at Colfax, pending extradition to Latah County.
A third defendant, Thomas Riggins of Kent, Wash., remains jailed there on charges of conspiracy and being a principal to the murder.
Prosecutors have accused the three of plotting the crime.
But Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson Jr. said investigators still have not found a murder weapon nor established a motive.
Prosecutors have said they want to try all three defendants together, but it is not clear whether Bradbury will keep the cases joined or oversee all the cases.
Meanwhile, the grand jury that handed down indictments against the three defendants is still in session.
More than 70 witnesses went before the grand jury prior to the indictments, according to court records. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Robin Eckmann said more people could be charged in the case.
James Wells and Riggins will likely be appointed separate public defenders once they are extradited to Latah County. Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has signed extradition documents for James Wells and Riggins, but authorities are waiting for Washington Gov. Gary Locke to do the same.
The Wells brothers were arrested the morning after the shooting near Vantage, Wash., after a high-speed chase. The vehicle the men were driving allegedly matched one described by witnesses as related to the shooting.
McMillan, a starting cornerback on the Vandal football team, was shot in the chest, apparently just inside his apartment after answering a knock on the door, according to investigators. He managed to seek help from a neighbor who brought him to the local hospital, where he died 11 hours later.
Police continue to investigate possible scenarios, including one that McMillan was involved in a downtown fight – perhaps as a peacemaker – which may have involved Riggins.
Criminal complaints allege Riggins, the nephew of the Wells brothers, solicited his uncles to travel from Seattle to Moscow. Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy dropped felony charges of attempting to elude authorities against the Wells brothers so the more serious charges could be prosecuted in Idaho.