Sep 3, 2008 12:49 pm US/Eastern
Suspect In Erie Collar-Bomb Case To Plead Guilty
Kenneth Barnes faces a maximum 30 years to life on the collar bomb charge alone
ERIE (KDKA) ―
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Investigators say the mastermind of the bank robbery, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, wanted money to pay Kenneth Barnes to kill her father
KDKA
A guilty plea is expected today from one of the people charged in the case of an Erie bank robbery involving a pizza delivery man with a bomb strapped to his neck.
Kenneth Barnes is expected to plead guilty for his role in the bizarre plot that left pizza deliveryman Brian Wells dead five years ago.
Barnes and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong are accused of forcing pizza deliveryman Wells to wear a bomb around his neck and rob a PNC Bank in 2003
Wells told police he was forced at gunpoint to wear a bomb around his neck and rob the bank. As officers waited for the bomb squad, the device exploded and killed Wells.
Wells was named as an unindicted co conspirator but his family says he was innocent.
This afternoon, Barnes is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery as well as aiding and abetting the use of a collar bomb in the process of the robbery.
Although Barnes' attorney says he was a minor player in the event, Barnes faces a maximum 30 years to life on the collar bomb charge alone.
Prosecutors believe Marjorie Diehl Armstrong was the mastermind of the plot and planned to use the bank money to hire someone to kill her father.
She has been ruled incompetent to stand trail and has been placed in the federal government's custody for hospitalization and treatment pending her trial.
Barnes' sentencing is scheduled to begin at 2pm this afternoon in Erie.
During the hearing, prosecutors are expected to present a minute-by-minute description of what happened during the 2003 heist.
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