Jul 12, 2007 12:13 pm US/Eastern
Erie Collar Bomb Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
ERIE (KDKA/AP) ―
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Investigators say the mastermind of the plan, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, wanted money to pay Kenneth Barnes (seen here) to kill her father
KDKA
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Federal authorities now say that pizza deliveryman Brian Wells, who died when a bomb strapped around his neck exploded, was actually in on the bank robbery plot
The first of two suspects indicted in the 2003 collar-bomb case in Erie says he's not guilty of the charges.
Just one day after federal authories announced the indictments of two people in the bizarre case of the 2003 bank robbery and explosion that killed a pizza deliveryman, officials in Erie arraigned Kenneth Barnes on criminal charges.
Barnes, 53, was already in jail on an unrelated drug charge. He is now facing charges including bank robbery, conspiracy and a firearms count.
The other defendant, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, 58, is already in state prison for killing her boyfriend. She is scheduled to face her first court appearance in the collar-bomb case tomorrow.
Meanwhile, prosecutors say Brian Wells, the pizza deliveryman who was blown up by a bomb around his neck after robbing a bank, had been in on the plot.
A prosecutor says Wells had actually helped to plan the robbery, but got caught up in something "much more sinister."
Wells' family, however, isn't buying it.
John Wells says he wants to see more proof that his brother was a participant, instead of a victim.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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