2003 | Erie, Pa. | Murder / Armed Robbery | Solved
TLDR
On Aug. 28, 2003, pizza deliveryman Brian Wells robbed a bank in Erie, Pa., with a bomb locked to his collar. He told police he had been forced into it. While investigators surrounded him in a parking lot, the bomb went off. Whether Wells was a victim, a co-conspirator, or something in between is a question that took years to partially answer and may never be fully resolved.
The Case
He was sitting on the ground when the bomb went off.
Brian Wells, 46, had walked into a PNC Bank in Erie shortly after 2 p.m. He handed the teller a note demanding $250,000. He had a metal collar locked around his neck, a device that looked industrial and serious. He got $8,702. Then he was stopped by police in a parking lot a few blocks away.
What came next was nearly 30 minutes of chaos. Wells told officers he had been given the bomb by people he met during a pizza delivery. He said he had no choice. He said he was following instructions to collect the money, complete a scavenger hunt of tasks, and the bomb would be removed. He seemed scared. He seemed genuine.
The bomb squad was still en route when the device detonated. Wells died at the scene.
The investigation that followed took years and led somewhere nobody quite expected. Prosecutors eventually charged a woman named Marjorie Armstrong and a man named Kenneth Barnes. Armstrong had planned the entire scheme, including building the bomb, and had allegedly recruited Wells to deliver the ransom note in exchange for a share of the money.
The question investigators and journalists could not definitively answer was whether Wells knew the bomb was real. Some evidence suggested he believed he was wearing a fake device and would be safe. Other evidence, including the fact that he had been to the property where the bomb was built days before the robbery, suggested he was more involved in the planning than a pure victim would have been.
Armstrong was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to 30 years. Barnes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and received 45 years. The full truth of what Brian Wells believed when he walked into that bank likely died with him in that parking lot.
The bomb had a timer and a keyhole. The plan was that Wells would unlock it after completing a series of tasks. Bomb technicians who examined it later said it was designed so that even if Wells had wanted to remove it himself, he could not have. Whether that was meant to trap an unwilling participant or just ensure a willing one could not back out is something no one has ever conclusively established.
Where to Find More
- Documentaries: Evil Genius (2018) on Netflix is the definitive account, a four-part docuseries that upends the initial narrative and makes a compelling case that Wells knew more than he let on. It features never-before-seen footage and interviews with investigators.
- Books: Pizza Bomber: The Untold Story of America’s Most Shocking Bank Robbery by Jerry Clark and Ed Palattella (2012), written by the lead FBI agent and the journalist who covered the case from day one.
- Podcasts: Casefile True Crime, Case 81: Brian Wells. My Favorite Murder also covered the case in a full episode.
