ERIE, Pa. — A man admitted in federal court Wednesday that he helped plot a bizarre bank robbery that ended when a bomb strapped around a pizza deliveryman’s neck exploded and killed him, the first conviction in the 5-year-old case.
Kenneth Barnes pleaded guilty to conspiracy and a charge of aiding and abetting.
According to Barnes, Brian Wells, 46, got cold feet on the day of the robbery, refusing to put on the collar bomb after realizing it was real. Another plotter then fired a single shot from a gun, scaring him into putting it around his neck.
Barnes, 54, could be sentenced to life in prison, but his attorneys hope he will get a lighter sentence in exchange for his cooperation.
Wells walked into a PNC Bank branch on the outskirts of Erie on Aug. 28, 2003, with a pipe bomb locked onto his neck. He gave a teller a note demanding money and walked away with about $8,700.
Wells was cornered by police and told officers the bomb had been put on his neck at gunpoint. It exploded, killing him.
