A California man is behind bars after allegedly sending chilling death threats to the stepmom of a friend who was with Nolan Wells before he died. 

Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce is accused of sending social media direct messages threatening to kill Jackson County Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole, according to court records obtained by the Sun Herald.

Judge Cole’s stepson, Warren Hudson, was one of the friends who celebrated the Fourth of July with Nolan Wells on Horn Island. 

Wells was found dead on July 6 after vanishing during the boating trip off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. 

Judge Cole used her Facebook page to express her support for Wells’ family in the aftermath of his death. 

Dumarce then allegedly sent vile messages threatening Cole and her family.  

One of the harrowing messages cited in court documents allegedly warned there would be a ‘package’ sent to Cole’s office that would ‘blow’ her away when she saw it. 

‘Blood. So much blood everywhere. Hard to clean. Especially from a boat. But yours will be quick I promise,’ messages in the document stated.

The account also claimed to have all her private information – including her phone number and address – adding ‘not even the FBI can stop this,’ per the records.

‘Once that package is opened, the timer will start. And then you have maybe 10 seconds or less to ask God for forgiveness,’ according the court records.

In other alleged messages, Dumarce threatened that Cole’s sons ‘are going to be strangled.’ 

Cole posted screenshots to Facebook on July 9 showing the burner account repeatedly commenting on her photos with violent threats, including ‘slow painful death’ and another targeting her child. 

FBI Safe Streets Task Force agents traced the account to an email address, phone number, date of birth and addresses associated with the account. 

By obtaining this information, investigators allege they were able to trace the account back to Dumarce.

The suspect faces a federal charge of sending threatening communications across state lines, which carries up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervision after release.

Dumarce was previously arrested in 2019 after allegedly exposing himself to and trying to kidnap a 13-year-old girl, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Dumarce’s record in California’s Megan’s Law sex offender registry shows he was convicted in 2019 of annoying or molesting a child under 18 and in 2020 of sending harmful matter to seduce a minor, per the outlet.

The registry shows he was released from prison in 2023 and is listed as a transient in Sacramento.