Mediator named for UI trial

MOSCOW, Idaho – A Grangeville judge has appointed a mediator to negotiate a joint trial date for three men charged with murder and conspiracy in the shooting death of a University of Idaho football player.

Eric McMillan, 19, was shot last September at his off-campus apartment in Moscow. Authorities say no motive has been established.

Brothers Matthew R. Wells II and James J. Wells, both of Seattle, and their nephew, Thomas J. Riggins of Kent, Wash., are set to go on trial next month.

Second District Judge John Bradbury was assigned all three cases after one defendant asked Judge John Stegner to step down.

But Matthew Wells has asked to exercise his constitutional right to a speedy trial, which trumps the convenience of the other parties, who want later court dates, Bradbury said.

Last week he appointed 5th District Judge Monte Carlson to meet the defense attorneys and agree on a joint trial date before the trial continues.

Meanwhile, six other people, most of them family members – including the Wellses’ father and brothers – have been charged with perjury before a grand jury relating to this case.

Judge John R. Stegner of Moscow is overseeing their trials, set for May and June.

Those defendants include Matthew Raydon Wells Sr. of Seattle, father of the Wells brothers; two additional Wells brothers, Emmanuel Ray Wells of Fircrest, Wash., and Aaron B. Wells of Pullman; Mashere Harrison-Wells of Fircrest, the wife of James Wells; and Angela C. Brown of Pullman, a Washington State University student and girlfriend of Aaron Wells.

Perjury charges against Anthony Lafar Wells, another brother from SeaTac, Wash., have been dismissed for lack of evidence, said Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson Jr.