Erie Bank Robber said he would return for rest of 250K(collar bomb would go off in 22 minutes)

Erie Times-News ^ | 9/5/03

[cake_crumb]

"Now that's another weird part of the story. Come back to rob it later?"

Yeah, "weird" is an understatement...And how many innocent victims wait patiently in line for their turn while a time bomb is ticking around their neck?

[restornu]

There are two more articles with photos


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/976706/posts?page=4

[cake_crumb]

"I can't imagine someone giving him a gun if he wasn't involved, but I also can't imagine him letting the bomb go off if he knew how to disarm it."

EXACTLY. I sure DOES look like someone took advantage of his being slow.

[Justin Thyme]

Ruh-roh Raggy....

I won't get into much "hindsight is 20/20" regarding what the police may or may not have been able to do....but this part doesn't look good. And with Wells dead, they certainly can't ask him anything now....

~~~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The troopers closest to Wells were interviewed at the scene and later by investigators. "I believe there were more things said, but what that was I'm not sure about at this time," Cpl. Mark Zaleski, spokesman for Troop E of the state police, said Thursday night.

"They had moved away from him — a distance away — and if there was more dialogue, it comes down to whether or not they heard him," said Zaleski. He stressed the troopers weren't interviewing Wells; they were trying to keep a lid on a dangerous situation.

[FootBall]

Would you use the Single shot in the Cane-Gun to shoot the person(s) who set the timer Collar Bomb on your neck. The one person that could diffuse it or stop the detonation.
I wouldn't

I think the Cane-Gun was given him to potentially be a more effective robber.

[Southack]

"My fearless prediction: It's an inside job"

Wouldn't an "insider" know when the bank vault would be open (i.e. 3PM rather than 2:20)?!

[FootBall]

Some say he/them copied this robbery from a CSI episode as described below.

http://www.allyourtv.com/shows/c/showguidecsimiami.html

1-2 Losing Face--09/30/2002

A necklace bomb explodes, killing a Colombian businessman and a bomb technician who was Horatio's former mentor. The murders cause Horatio to become emotionally involved in the case, which worries Megan, especially after a second bomb is discovered.

Written By: Gwendolyn Parker and Steven Maeda
Directed By: Joe Chappelle
Guest Stars: Joe Renteria as Aurelio Moreno; Jessica Ferrarone as Julisa; Mercedes Colon as Katrina; Conor O'Farrell as Berenger; Liz Alvarado as Lauriana; Lou Beatty Jr. as Al; Candy Brown Houston; Alex Paez as Det. Martin Puig; Seth Adkins; Bill Jacobson; Magaly Caicedo as Lauriana and Lou Beatty Jr.

[mbynack]

Why make and disguise a weapon? What's he going to do - tell the teller "give me the money or I'll shoot you with my cane"? Why not give him an empty gun or make something that looks like a gun? Why give him a gun at all if he isn't going to shoot anyone?

None of this makes sense.

[ryanjb2]

>> 1. He said a "dark-skinned man" put the bomb on him. Not black, not "a Mexican," but "dark-skinned." >>

This is possible. I don't want to sound mean or anything, but Erie gets all sorts of immigrants - lots of Muslims.

[rond]

Wouldn't an 'insider' know when the bank vault would be open?

Yes. Which is why I speculate that the robber wasn't in the loop.

[norraad]

"None of this makes sense"

The more you think about it & the more facts come in, the more confusing it gets.

But I'm leaning towards some collusion between Mama Mia & PNB employees.

[MattAMiller]

Wells waited in line.

I think this guy is a victim and died in a horrible way, but this cracked me up. I wonder how long the line was.

[MattAMiller]

I had a hunch that there might be a bank employee involved, but this story actually make me doubt that. A bank employee would probably know when the vault opened and be able to plan accordingly.

[abner]

Has anyone heard any more about this lately?