Next-door neighbor Brian Wells sued the couple in April, claiming the project they'd proposed to the neighborhood wasn't the one actually being built. The parties agreed to a settlement in June. The case was scheduled to be heard by the city's Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday morning.
Full Answer
What happened to Brian Wells?
Erie Federal Courthouse/Erie Bureau of Police via WiredSecurity camera footage of Brian Wells walking toward the bank’s exit, bomb strapped around his neck, just after the robbery. On August 28, 2003 in Erie, Pennsylvania, Brian Wells’ pizza delivery went horribly wrong when it ended with him dying thanks to a bomb locked around his neck.
Why did they kill Frank Wells?
It was believed Wells was killed to reduce the number of witnesses. Family and friends of Wells dispute his involvement in the bank robbery and his own death; according to them, Wells was accosted at gunpoint and forced to wear the bomb.
Was Wells a willing participant in the bank bomb plot?
Wells' involvement in the plot is a matter of controversy. Investigators concluded and a federal prosecutor's indictment alleged Wells was a knowing participant in the bank robbery but was told the bomb was fake and did not know his co-conspirators intended for him to die. Wells' family said he was not a willing participant in the incident.
How much did the teller at the bank give Brian Wells?
At the bank, Brian Wells handed a teller a note demanding $250,000 within the next 15 minutes. However, the teller explained that she couldn’t gather that much money in so little time and only gave him $8,702.
Is Marjorie Diehl Armstrong dead?
April 4, 2017Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong / Date of death
Is Kenneth Barnes still alive?
Ken or Kenneth Barnes is the name of: Ken Barnes (writer) (1933–2015), British writer, record producer and film historian.
Who was Ken Barnes?
One of the co-conspirators who was serving time for his role in the 2003 pizza collar bomb heist that claimed the life of Brian Wells has died. Kenneth Barnes, 65, passed away Thursday at the Federal Medical Center at Butner, North Carolina.
When was the Erie pizza bomber?
The two gained national infamy as the two defendants prosecuted in federal court in Erie in the pizza bomber case, in which pizza deliveryman Brian Wells was killed when a bomb locked to his neck exploded after he robbed what was then the PNC Bank branch on Peach Street in Summit Township on Aug. 28, 2003.
Where is Brian Wells from?
Brian Wells was born in Warren, Pennsylvania to Rose and Harold Wells, the latter of whom was a Korean War veteran. In 1973, when Wells was a 16-year-old sophomore, he dropped out of Erie's East High School and went to work as a mechanic.
What happened to Wells?
Following an attempt to rob a PNC Bank, and while surrounded by police, Wells was murdered when an explosive collar locked to his neck detonated. It is known as the "collar bomb" or "pizza bomber" case. The incident was shown live on television. Wells' involvement in the plot is a matter of controversy.
What happened to James Roden?
On September 20, 2003, Rothstein, who lived near the television tower, called police to inform them the body of a man, James Roden, was hidden in a freezer in a garage at his house. After he telephoned police, Rothstein wrote a suicide note indicating his planned death had nothing to do with Wells.
Who was indicted for bank robbery?
A federal grand jury indicted Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes on charges of bank robbery, conspiracy, and weapons charges. Fellow co-conspirator William "Bill" Rothstein had died and his roommate Floyd Stockton was given immunity from prosecution so he could testify against Diehl-Armstrong.
Was Wells a participant in the bank robbery?
Investigators concluded and a federal prosecutor's indictment alleged Wells was a knowing participant in the bank robbery but was told the bomb was fake and did not know his co-conspirators intended for him to die.
Did Wells die in the bank robbery?
Family and friends of Wells dispute his involvement in the bank robbery and his own death; according to them, Wells was accosted at gunpoint and forced to wear the bomb.
Was Wells a willing participant in the crime?
Wells' family said he was not a willing participant in the incident. The multiple aspects of the crime meant the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led an investigative task force in conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP).
What happened to Brian Wells?
What exactly happened there remains mysterious, but what we do know is that someone locked a bomb collar around Brian Wells’ ne ck and ordered him to rob a bank or else he would explode. So began the story of one ...
How much money did Brian Wells give to a bank teller?
However, the teller explained that she couldn’t gather that much money in so little time and only gave him $8,702.
How did Rothstein die?
Those questions would become harder to answer after Rothstein died of lymphoma in 2004, before being brought to justice for his part in the whole Evil Genius affair.
What was the bomb around Wells' neck?
As Wells understood it, the bomb around his neck was supposed to be a fake, a decoy that he’d use to threaten the bank employees. But when he went to the secluded area by the TV tower, he learned that the other conspirators led by Diehl-Armstrong had changed their minds and put a real bomb around his neck.
How long did it take for Brian Wells' collar to explode?
As police called in the bomb squad and then took cover, Wells sat on a parking lot of an eyeglass shop near the bank. The collar exploded three minutes before the bomb squad arrived and 30 minutes after the robbery. It ripped a hole in the chest of Brian Wells and he died right there.
How long was Barnes in jail?
However, Barnes stuck to his story about Wells’ involvement. And even though he’d cooperated with authorities, he was still sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to bank robbing charges in 2008.
Who was the woman who robbed a bank?
But soon, Rothstein claimed that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, a local woman with a criminal past who lived with Roden a month before the heist, hatched the bank robbery because her father was squandering her multimillion-dollar inheritance and she needed money to pay a hitman to kill him before all the money was gone.
How old is Wells' sister?
Still, Wells' 51-year-old sister, Jean Heid, of Erie, said the movie isn't funny — whether or not it was inspired by her brother's fate.
Has the Wells family been given the same restraint?
Wells' family has not been given the same restraint.
Why did Wells need money?
Wells reportedly needed money for his own debts.
Why did Diehl-Armstrong rob Wells?
As was later proved in court, Diehl-Armstrong hatched the robbery scheme to force Wells into the PNC Bank in Erie with a ticking bomb around his neck because she apparently needed money so she that could have her father killed. (She mistakenly believed he was wealthy.)
What was the purpose of the papers in the Wells car?
The papers were addressed to the “Bomb Hostage” and contained directions first to rob the bank and then to proceed on an elaborate scavenger hunt for keys and codes to disable the explosive Wells wore.
How many locks did Wells have?
Investigators ultimately determined the device, which included four locks and a combination dial, could never have been safely removed.
What happened to the pizza guy after he robbing a bank?
After Robbing a Bank Wearing a Bomb, a Pizza Guy Was Told to Go on a Scavenger Hunt to Save Himself. The handwritten notes found in Wells' car after he died soon after robbing a bank in 2003 are addressed to the "Bomb Hostage". By Chris Harris. May 22, 2018 11:00 AM.
When did the pizza delivery man rob a bank?
A 46-year-old pizza delivery man with a bomb fastened around his neck robbed a Pennsylvania bank in August 2003, walking out with more than $8,000 in cash.
Was Wells a victim?
But in subsequent years, authorities uncovered an intricate criminal plot and concluded Wells was no pure victim. They said he had, in fact, helped plot part of the same scheme that led to his death.
Overview
On August 28, 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells robbed a PNC Bank near his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. After being apprehended by police, Wells was murdered when an explosive collar locked to his neck detonated. A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into the murder uncovered a complex plot that has been described as "one of the most complicated and biz…
Biography
Brian Wells was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, to Rose and Harold Wells, the latter of whom was a Korean War veteran. In 1973, when Wells was a 16-year-old sophomore, he dropped out of Erie's East High School and went to work as a mechanic.
Conspirators
At Kenneth Barnes' home, he, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, and William Rothstein discussed ways they could make money. Diehl-Armstrong suggested Barnes kill her father, Harold Diehl, so she would receive an inheritance. Barnes told her he was willing to do this for US$250,000 (equivalent to $368,262 in 2021). The collar bomb-bank robbery plot was hatched to obtain enough money to pay Barnes to kill Diehl-Armstrong's father. In return for a reduced sentence, Barnes later told inv…
The crime
The bomb used in the killing consisted of a hinged collar that worked like a large handcuff to go around the neck, four keyholes that went under the chin, and a rectangular section that contained two pipe bombs and two kitchen timers. One electronic timer hung down over the chest. The device had several decoys, such as unconnected wires, a toy cell phone, and stickers bearing deceptive warnings.
Aftermath
WJET-TV, an Erie ABC affiliate, broadcast the event live on the air, but did not show the moment of the detonation live due to a technical problem. The station provided the footage to FBI investigators, ABC's head office, and sister station in Buffalo, New York. The footage was subsequently leaked to a shock jock on DC101, a radio station in Washington, D.C. who posted it on his website in September 2003. Although he subsequently removed the video at WJET-TV's requ…
Media attention
As the case continued to develop, the investigation garnered national media coverage in America. Less than two years since the September 11 attacks, many at first believed the incident to be terrorism-related. Fox's America's Most Wanted featured the story three times and publicized newly released evidence in hopes officials could obtain new clues in the case.
Due to its novelty and complexity, the story retains a fascination for many people. The January 2…
In fiction
The 2011 American comedy film 30 Minutes or Less depicts a pizza delivery man being forced to wear a bomb vest and rob a bank, with the mastermind seeking the money to hire a hitman to kill his father and receive his inheritance. The film's similarity to the Wells case was criticized by Wells' family, but Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group said the cast and crew were not aware of the Wells case and the screenwriters were "vaguely familiar" with it.
See also
• List of unusual deaths
• 1973 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce bank robbery, in which a bank robber was killed due to an explosive device
• Mosman bomb hoax, a 2011 extortion attempt using a fake collar bomb