2 Men Sought in Bomb Death After Robbery (Erie, PA)

ASHINGTON, Sept. 8 — The F.B.I. today released drawings of two men wanted for questioning in a bank robbery in Erie, Pa., last month that resulted in the death of a pizza deliveryman.

The victim, Brian D. Wells, was killed when a bomb locked around his neck exploded shortly after he robbed a PNC Bank on Aug. 28. Before he died, Mr. Wells told the police that he had been forced by unknown assailants to wear the weapon and rob the bank.

Investigators said today in a news conference in Erie that Mr. Wells had received detailed instructions in a note to go to four places after the robbery. Near one of those four spots, witnesses saw two men behaving suspiciously near the time of Mr. Wells's death, investigators said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it planned to post sketches of the two men on its Web site on Tuesday, based on detailed witness descriptions.

The note told Mr. Wells to go first to a McDonald's drive-through near the bank and then to a wooded area near Exit 180 of Interstate 79 just south of Erie immediately after the robbery, the authorities said.

Around the time of the explosion that killed Mr. Wells, a motorist saw a man wearing a backpack run across a busy road not far from exit 180, investigators said. They described the man as black, 5 feet 8 inches tall and in his mid-30's.

"His actions are suspicious and certainly we want to identify this person," Special Agent Bob Rudge of the F.B.I. said.

A second motorist passing through the same area not long after Mr. Wells died told investigators that he saw a white man "running feverishly" from another wooded area near Exit 180. The man also rushed across a busy street, putting his hands on passing cars to avoid being knocked over, the witness said. Mr. Rudge called the man's actions "peculiar" and asked other witnesses to call the F.B.I.'s tip line, (866) 219-2008

Pizza deliveryman did not act alone in bizarre bank robbery: investigators

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - Investigators said Monday they were confident a pizza deliveryman did not act alone when he robbed a bank with a bomb locked to his neck that went off moments later and killed him.

But whether Brian Douglas Wells was a willing participant or somehow "duped" into participating remained a mystery, FBI agent Bob Rudge said. "We still don't know if it's a murder investigation," Rudge said. The idea that Wells acted alone is now the "least likely scenario and we are to the point where we have discounted that as a possibility," he said.

Wells, 46, was stopped in his car, arrested and handcuffed Aug. 28 following a PNC Bank robbery near Erie, but was killed when the bomb attached to a collar locked around his neck exploded while he and police waited for a bomb squad.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Wells locked the bomb onto himself, or if it was locked onto him by someone else who forced him to rob the bank.

Authorities continued to search for two men seen nearby running through traffic about 45 minutes after Wells died. The FBI released sketches of the two men, saying it was not known if they had anything to do with the case.

Wells told police when he was arrested that someone had locked the bomb around his neck, started a timer on the bomb and forced him to rob the bank. He said he was given a note with detailed instructions.

On Monday, investigators released a map of four locations listed in the note where Wells was allegedly supposed to receive further instructions.

One location was a restaurant sign just metres from the bank, near where Wells was sitting in his car when police found him. Two others were wooded areas along major roads within a few kilometres of the bank. Another was beneath an interstate underpass. The two men seen darting through traffic were near locations mentioned in the note, authorities said. People who knew Wells have said he couldn't have acted alone. They have described him as a quiet man of average intelligence who had little ambition outside of listening to music and working part-time in his pizza delivery job.

All these reports just broke within the last hour

Investigators say unlikely deliveryman acted alone in bizarre bank robbery

Investigators said Monday they were confident a pizza deliveryman did not act alone when he robbed a bank with a bomb locked to his neck and was killed when the device went off while he was surrounded by police a short time later. Authorities are still trying to determine, however, whether Brian Douglas Wells had been forced to rob the bank by someone who locked the bomb to his neck, as he told authorities, or whether he was a willing participant, FBI agent Bob Rudge said. He also said it's possible Wells was "duped" into the robbery.

"We still don't know if it's a murder investigation," Rudge said.

He refused to say why authorities do not believe Wells acted alone in the robbery.

The FBI also released sketches of two men seen running through traffic within 45 minutes of Wells' death. Neither was described as a suspect, but Rudge said they are of interest to investigators.

Stopped by police a short time after robbing the PNC Bank branch outside Erie on Aug. 28, Wells told authorities he had a bomb attached to a metal collar locked around his neck that would detonate soon. Wells told police someone had locked the collar, which appeared to have four keyholes, and apparently started a timer on the bomb.

The bomb exploded, killing Wells, before a bomb squad reached the scene. No one else was injured in the blast.

On Monday, investigators released a map detailing several locations _ including four contained in an extensive note carried by Wells which appeared to be directions. Rudge said the 46-year-old deliveryman was supposed to receive information and directions relative to the robbery at the locations but wouldn't release more, including the time frame during which the locations were to be reached.

He would not say whether Wells was expected to reach the locations in order to disarm the bomb.

One of the locations mentioned in the note was a restaurant sign just feet from the bank, near where Wells was sitting in his car when police found him. Two other locations mentioned were wooded areas along major roadways within a few miles of the bank. Another was beneath an interstate underpass.

One of the men being sought by police was seen darting through traffic across busy Interchange Road near Millcreek Mall about 4 p.m., less than an hour after Wells' death. Rudge said the man came out of a wooded area near one of the locations the note appeared to instruct Wells to visit.

The investigator asked that anyone who saw the man contact authorities. Rudge said it is believed the man may have touched vehicle hoods or trunks while crossing the roadway.

Closer to the time of the robbery, a witness told investigators, a second man was seen leaping over a concrete barrier crossing Interchange Road on the street where the bank is located about a mile away. The witness said it appeared the man was running in the direction of the bank.

Rudge said the information was being released in hopes that someone who recognizes the men will contact authorities.

Last week, the FBI released photographs of the metal collar and lock that held the bomb in place over Wells' chest. Rudge said more than 400 calls have been made to the agency's tip line and that investigators are following "several parallel lines" in the investigation.

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Investigators looking for two men in bizarre bank robbery case

Two men were seen running in a suspicious manner not far from the scene of a bizarre bank robbery and explosion that took the life of a pizza deliveryman who told authorities he had been forced to commit the crime by someone who strapped an explosive around his neck, an investigator said Monday.

FBI Special Agent Bob Rudge said investigators have all but concluded that 46-year-old Brian Douglas Wells did not act alone in the robbery of the PNC Bank branch outside Erie on Aug. 28. He would not say why investigators have reached that conclusion and added they are still trying to determine if Wells was a willing participant in the robbery.

"We still don't know if it's a murder investigation," Rudge said.

After being stopped by police a short distance from the scene of the robbery, Wells, who was handcuffed and taken out of his car, told authorities someone had put the bomb on him and forced him to rob the bank. He said the person or persons who put the bomb on him had apparently started some kind of timer on the device and that he did not have much time before it exploded.

The bomb went off, killing Wells, while authorities were waiting for a bomb squad to arrive. No one else was injured.

On Monday, the FBI released sketches of two men seen running in the area around the time of the explosion, saying it was not known if they had anything to do with the case.

Investigators also disclosed that an extensive note Wells was carrying listed four nearby locations. The note instructed Wells to go to those locations to get more information, but investigators would not confirm he was supposed to go to those places so the bomb could be disarmed.

Last week, the FBI released photographs of the metal collar and lock that held the bomb in place over Wells' chest.

FBI searching for 2 men for questioning in pizza bomb case

By Ed Palattella

The FBI is trying to find two men to question in connection with the bombing death of pizza deliveryman Brian Wells on Aug. 28. Officials released composite sketches of the pair -- one a muscular black man and the other a white man with straight hair -- at a 30-minute news conference today. The FBI has not called the men suspects, but said agents want to question them because they were seen running in the area around Peach Street and Interchange Road at the time of Wells' death. The FBI today also said that Wells carried a multipage note that told him where to go after he robbed the PNC Bank branch in the Summit Towne Centre on upper Peach Street. Wells robbed the bank and got to one of the designated locations -- a McDonald's near the bank -- before the bomb locked to his neck exploded at 3:14 p.m. The other locations were the woods near the northbound ramp of Interstate 79 at the Interchange Road exit; the woods near the McKean Township sign in the southbound lane of I-79; and the Grubb Road overpass in the eastbound lane of I-90. The FBI was to post the photos of the two men on the FBI Web site no later than Tuesday. The sketches will appear in Tuesday's Erie Times-News.

Final test results on Wells, Pinetti expected this week

By Ed Palattella

Investigators say they are sure to get more complete evidence this week in at least one aspect of the Brian Wells case — the death of Wells' co-worker Robert Pinetti.

The final results of toxicology tests on Pinetti's body are scheduled to be done by the middle of the week, Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said. He said his office expects to get toxicology results for Wells at that time, too.

The Coroner's Office already has said Wells died as a result of the explosion of the bomb that was locked around his neck Aug. 28. The toxicology results will let investigators know what, if any, substances were in Wells' system when he died.

The toxicology results are more crucial in determining the cause of death of Pinetti, 43, who delivered pizzas with Wells, 46, at Mama Mia's Pizza-Ria on Peach Street in Millcreek Township. Pinetti was found dead in his Lawrence Park home the morning of Aug. 31 — three days after Wells died after robbing a bank on upper Peach Street in Summit Township. Wells told police he was forced into the robbery.

Preliminary toxicology tests showed that Pinetti, when he died, had in his urine methadone and a type of drug typically found in muscle relaxants and sedatives such as Valium.

Cook has declined to rule on the manner of Pinetti's death until he receives the full toxicology report. The preliminary tests can detect only eight substances present in a person's urine at death. The more comprehensive tests can detect a much wider array of substances as well as their levels, Cook said Sunday.

The final test results "will either prove or disprove that drugs or poisons played a part in his death," Cook said.

District Attorney Brad Foulk said two days after Pinetti's death that Pinetti had a history of substance abuse, but he declined to elaborate. Foulk also said Pinetti's body showed no signs of trauma, and that Pinetti had no known heart problems. He said investigators at that time had "not definitively ruled out a drug overdose."

State police have said they found nothing that linked Pinetti's death to the plot that ended in Wells' death. The FBI interviewed Pinetti and his co-workers a day after Wells' death, though agents have declined to comment on the contents of those interviews.

The FBI has made no arrests in Wells' death.

The FBI has scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. today at Erie City Hall. FBI spokesman Bill Crowley said the agency will discuss the case to date and "release information." He would not elaborate. The news conference will be the second the FBI has held since Wells' death. At the first news conference, on Tuesday, the FBI showed photographs of the locking device that held the bomb around Wells' neck.

Summary of important events in the Brian Wells case

By Gerry Weiss

The following is a summary of the daily developments in the Brian Wells case:

n Aug. 28 — Brian Wells, a 46-year-old pizza deliveryman from Millcreek Township, enters the PNC Bank in Summit Towne Center about 2:30 p.m. and gives a note to a teller. The note demands money and says Wells is carrying a bomb.

The teller gives Wells money. As he drives away from the bank, state police apprehend Wells in the driveway of Eyeglass World. After he is handcuffed, Wells tells police he has a bomb. He also tells police he was forced to rob the bank.

"I'm not lying," Wells said to police. "This isn't me. I'm not doing this."

At 3:18 p.m., the bomb strapped to Wells' neck explodes, killing him.

n Aug. 29 — Investigators continue to work the case around the clock, including agents from the FBI, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Agents search Wells' house in the 2400 block of Loveland Avenue.

Much of the day's investigation focuses on the location of Wells' last pizza delivery on the afternoon of Aug. 28. He had left Mama Mia's Pizza-Ria, 5154 Peach St., to deliver two pizzas to a location at 8631 Peach St., a remote and rural area that leads to a television transmission tower.

Erie FBI Special Agent Bob Rudge says investigators, "until we know otherwise," are treating the case as a homicide, unable to determine whether Wells was a robber or murder victim.

n Aug. 30 — Remnants of the bomb that killed Wells are flown out of Erie to the FBI lab in Quantico, Va.

n Aug. 31 — Robert Pinetti, 43, Wells' friend and a fellow pizza delivery driver for Mama Mia's Pizza-Ria, dies in his Lawrence Park home. Investigators pour onto the scene and search Pinetti's home at 2525 Dobbins Road, trying to learn if Pinetti's and Wells' deaths are linked.

The story is covered by national and international media, including all the major television networks, CNN and the British Broadcasting Corp. Reports are carried in many newspapers throughout the world.

n Monday — Forensic pathologist Dr. Eric Vey performs an autopsy on Pinetti's body.

n Tuesday — At a press conference televised live on CNN, investigators lay out three scenarios to the bank robbery and bombing: Wells planned and committed the robbery alone; he was a willing participant with others; or he was a "bomb hostage" forced to rob the bank.

Agents say the metal collar attached to the bomb that killed Wells was sophisticated and unique, and likely was handmade. The locking device on the collar was a letter envelope-sized box at the base, secured by four locks and a dial-combination lock.

Investigators say Pinetti had drugs in his urine when he died, but they don't know if those drugs are what killed the Lawrence Park man. Police say they have not linked Pinetti's death to the robbery.

n Wednesday — Pittsburgh FBI agent Ken McCabe says Wells was carrying a makeshift gun when the bomb exploded on his chest.

More than 50 investigators are now working the case.

n Thursday — The Erie Times-News, based on the account of a witness who was inside the PNC Bank branch at the time of the robbery and a source close to the investigation, reports that Wells — carrying a cane-like gun in his hands — handed a bank teller an extensive note and demanded $250,000.

Before he left, Wells told the teller the device around his neck "is going off in 22 minutes."

The FBI cancels a scheduled news conference on the case and declines to say why.

n Friday — Federal agents search the Ash Street apartment of Jimmy Johnson, 46, in connection with the Wells case. The Erie man describes himself as "a person of interest" in the bombing death of Wells.

A law enforcement source says the FBI is interested in Johnson and his girlfriend because the agents believe Wells had a relationship with the couple.

Johnson says he has nothing to do with the Wells case and said he had never spoken to Wells. The man's live-in girlfriend said she is Wells' cousin.

Johnson, an unemployed maintenance technician, is questioned by the FBI about his skills with machines. Agents do not take Johnson into custody after the search of his apartment and do not file charges against him or his girlfriend.

Agents also search a garage in the 300 block of Cherry Street on information that Johnson might have used the garage. Investigators carry away, among other things, screwdrivers, locking-type pliers and several other hand tools.

n Saturday — Johnson speaks out to local and national reporters, saying he did not know Wells and had no part in Wells' death. He says the FBI and other investigators are harassing him.

Investigators decline to comment on the Sept. 5 searches.

Ten days after Wells robs the bank and is killed, no arrests have been made in the case.

Sketches Released Of Men Sought In Bank Bomb

Deliveryman Killed By Bomb Instructed To Visit 4 Locations

ERIE, Pa. -- Investigators now believe there were several people involved in an attempted bank robbery in Pennsylvania that left a pizza deliveryman dead when a bomb locked around his neck exploded.

That man, 46-year-old Brian Wells, told police that someone forced him to rob the bank and strapped the bomb on his body and pulled the key out and started the timer. He begged for help and told the police he didn't have a lot of time left.

At a news conference Monday, FBI Special Agent Bob Rudge said Wells had instructions to visit four locations in the Erie area after the Aug. 29 robbery. Rudge would not say if Wells would have found instructions or keys at the four sites to help him disarm or unlock the bomb clamped around his neck. Police apprehended Wells a short distance from the scene of the bank robbery.

Rudge gave details of each location at the press conference, saying the FBI was hoping witnesses might recall seeing something unusual near those locations before or after the robbery.

"We believe there was activity at each of these locations, certainly before the robbery and possibly after the robbery," Rudge said.

He said a white man was seen running away from a wooded area near one of the locations Wells was instructed to visit, and a black man was spotted running away from another.

The FBI released composite sketches (above) of the two men and asked anyone who has information about the robbery to call (866) 219-2008.

Rudge said investigators still don't know if Wells was a willing participant in the robbery plot.

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