Nolan Wells case will go to grand jury; Ben Crump pushes for ‘fair’ investigation

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WXXV) –Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump and his team, along with the family of Nolan Wells, gathered outside the Jackson County Courthouse following a meeting with the district attorney’s office on Wednesday.

It was clarified in Wednesday’s press conference that once the investigation surrounding the tragic death of Nolan Wells is complete, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath’s office will turn this case over to a grand jury, but this does not necessarily mean Wells’ death is being investigated as a crime.

The specific details of the meeting with the district attorney’s office remain unclear. However, according to Crump, the discussion focused on the process of working with the office throughout the case. They say details regarding the ongoing investigation were not discussed, though Crump’s legal team did state they hope the investigation will be conducted “fairly.”

“We are getting dozens of people calling every day saying, ‘I was on Horn Island. This is what I saw. I know these individuals. This is what we know.’ We understand the sheriff’s investigation has hundreds of people calling too,” said Crump. “So, the hope is that when this is presented to the grand jury, all relevant witnesses and evidence will be presented to them so that we can have a fair and impartial investigation into the death of Nolan Wells.”

Crump’s team also allegedly made it known to McIlrath that race is a concern in regards to how the investigation will be handled.

“We know through our life experiences that… and she said ‘That’s not how our office operates,’ and we know, in America, in the south, certain people are investigated differently,” Crump said. “We were very honest and candid with the district attorney. She was honest and candid with us. Our lived experiences tell us that we must question everything — everybody’s role, law enforcement role. That is the lived experience of us as Black people in America, and we would be not honoring the ancestors sacrifices for us if we did not be honest every chance we got when we talk to power.”

Attorney Eric Hertz will help lead Crump’s investigative team, which includes former law enforcement experts. Hertz said the team is working to separate fact from the narratives circulating online as they seek to determine what happened in the case.

“There’s a lot of narratives out there right now, I’m not gonna comment on any particular one, but whenever a case this big gets in the news, people try for whatever motivations – law enforcement, or whoever, people that call in, try to set up a narrative so that people will follow the narrative. Our job is to cut through all the noise and find the truth,” said Hertz. “We wanna make sure the narrative which has been put out, which is false, is gonna be corrected.”

Crump’s legal team also raised concerns, saying they have allegedly not received all documents related to Wells’ death that should have been provided at this point.

“Under the law in Mississippi, a victim is entitled within I think it’s 72 hours, you get an incident report and have certain information shared. It’s been more than 72 hours, and that’s part of the meeting here today – to start getting the incident report and all that information that we came here to collect, as well as listen to the district attorney and what she had to say,” Hertz said.

The Wells-Wonsley family says they hope to have an open line of communication with the district attorney’s office moving forward in the investigation.

We also spoke with the Jackson County NAACP following Wednesday’s press conference. President Curley Clark says he is concerned that individuals with information regarding what took place on Horn Island on the 4th of July have not come forward out of fear they will face legal trouble for underage drinking and other activities. He says because of this, the NAACP will open their phone lines and doors to those who wish to provide information anonymously.

“So, the NAACP is in a position to accept any type of information available to ensure that the facts are known as to what really happened to [Nolan] on that island. We feel confident that some of the individuals there may be reluctant to come forward because there was a lot of underaged drinking that took place and some of the other activities. But, if you want to remain anonymous, that’s okay, but we really want to know exactly what happened, and I feel like there are people out there that can help us in that effort, because the NAACP… we’re adamant about trying to make sure that the facts are made known as to what occurred on July the fourth,” said Clark.

Clark says that information provided to the NAACP will be passed along to law enforcement. If you would like to contact the NAACP, call 228-623-2054 or 504-237-3563.