‘Pizza Collar Bomb’ Crime a Strange Story
With the new movie 30 Minutes or Less soon to be released in theaters, there are new details in the real life story that the film is loosely based on.
Back in 2003, pizza deliveryman Brian Wells was killed when a bomb attached to his neck went off as he sat in the middle of the street surrounded by police. Before he was killed, Wells explained that two people had attached the bomb to his collar and ordered him to rob a bank, as well as carry out other chores before they would disarm the bomb. Before a bomb squad could arrive on https://experience.tripster.ru/tours/azerbaijan/ the scene, the bomb went off and killed the 46-year-old Wells in what has become one of the strangest stories in the last eight years.
Brian Wells sits in the street with a bomb strapped to his neck.
Even years after the incident, there is still debate over whether Wells was a victim of murder or if he was in on the whole plan that went horribly wrong.
The FBI recently determined that Wells was part of the crime and that the other two participants were in Prison. However, the family of Wells still thinks that he was completely innocent and the victim of a murder.
Wells’ sister, Jean Held, has said that her brother was completely innocent and would never do anything like this. She blames the police for not doing anything to help Wells before the bomb detonated.
In another odd twist, The FBI stated that a man named Floyd Stockton knew of the plans for the robbery, but he was never charged and ended up going free. He was never even called as a witness in the trial.
Wells walking into the PNC Bank.
William Rothstein is believed to be the man behind the whole deal. It is assumed that he made the bomb that killed Brian Wells since there were bomb-making materials found in his home. Stockton has been named as an associate and was seen carrying the bomb out of Rothstein’s garage.
On top of that, Stockton was on the run from a rape charge in Washington State during the time that the robbery went down. He is also a registered sex offender. The other man involved in the robbery/murder was Kenneth Barnes. Barnes is in prison on a 20-year sentence and said that Stockton was supposed to divide up the money after the robbery. All of this and Stockton is a free man somehow. It doesn’t seem to add up.
Barnes also indicated that Wells was in on the plan. He said that Wells had talked about the robbery a month before it happened. Another witness also confirmed these claims.
On the day everything first happened, Wells walked into a PNC Bank in Erie, Pennsylvania with the bomb under a T-shirt and a cane that was actually a homemade shotgun. Wells gave notes to the tellers that demanded $250,000 be handed over to him. Since that much cash wasn’t available, Wells left with just $9,000. Police soon arrived at the scene and caught Wells nearby. Officers kept their distance as a result of Wells claiming he had a bomb strapped to his neck while begging for help. A bomb squad was called, but the bomb went off and killed Wells before they could arrive at the scene.
With Wells dead, police could not get his side of the story. He was immediately considered a victim in the incident. Notes found on Wells lead investigators to believe that Wells would have survived if he was able to complete his tasks in the short amount of time given him.
The following month, Rothstein called the police and said the dead body of James Roden was in his freezer. Rothstein said that his girlfriend, Marjorie, Diehl-Armstrong, killed Rothstein to prevent him from reporting the bomb plot. Both were arrested. Diehl-Armstrong was convicted and sent to prison for her involvement in the crime while Rothstein died of Cancer before he could be linked.
Authorities believe that Wells was in on the plot, but that he thought the bomb was fake. The belief is that Wells was the victim of a murder, whether or not he was in on the bank robbery.
The new movie 30 Minutes or Less is loosely based on this story, as inappropriate as it may seem. Based on the trailers for the film, it seems that someone being strapped with a bomb and forced to rob a bank are the only similar elements, being that it is a comedy. The family of Brian Wells can’t be very happy about such a movie coming out, and it is imagined that a lot of other people won’t find it to be a laughing matter. We’ll have to see what the box office says.
All in all, this is a very strange and twisted case that is likely never to be truly solved. There is only speculation of what really happened that day and whether or not Wells was in on it.
