Interesting twist on a theme used in "Running Man". At least, I think that was the movie in which Arnold Schwarsenegger is being held in a prison camp and has an explosive collar around his neck. If he goes beyond the blinking beacons, the collar will explode and kill him. Sounds like the culprit here took a page from a film script.
Brutal End
Authorities Probe Bizarre Deaths of Pizza Delivery Men[/i]
E R I E, Pa., Sept. 2— Autopsy results expected to be released today could help investigators begin to unravel whether there was a link between the deaths of two pizza delivery men, including one killed when a bomb strapped to his chest exploded after a bank robbery.
Brian Wells, 46, was killed Thursday after authorities said he robbed a bank, warning the tellers he was a human bomb.
On Sunday, family members found the body of Robert Pinetti, 43, another pizza delivery man who worked with Wells, in his Lawrence Park Township home. Chief Deputy Coroner Korac Timon later declared Pinetti dead and authorities are interested to see if the autopsy results link the two deaths.
Police searched Wells' home overnight, and removed 18 boxes of potential evidence.
The delivery man's landlord described him as "impeccably honest."
Wells allegedly entered a PNC Bank branch in Erie, some time after leaving Mama Mia's Pizza-Ria, where both he and Pinetti worked, to deliver two sausage and pepperoni pies to a rural location along a main road, near a television transmission tower.
Bank employees complied with Wells' demands for money after he allegedly told them that an explosive device was strapped to his neck.
The pizza delivery man was arrested minutes later only a quarter of a mile away and handcuffed. He told police the same story he told those at the bank: that he was wearing a bomb.
Authorities immediately backed away to secure the area while an anguished Wells cried, "Why is nobody trying to get this thing off me? He pulled a key out and started a timer. I heard the thing ticking when he did it. It's gonna go off. I don't have a lot of time. I'm not lying."
He wasn't lying, and moments later the device around his neck went off.
Law enforcement officials say they simply did not have time to defuse the bomb safely.
"It's a highly complex procedure," FBI Special Agent Ken McCabe said. "It's not like you see on TV where any police officer can walk up and decide to cut the yellow, green or red wire," he explained.
The FBI is helping local authorities with the investigation and is analyzing pieces of the device, hoping to figure out if Wells made it himself or whether he was set up.
Meanwhile, residents of the sleepy area try to make sense of two bizarre deaths.
The explosion was caught on videotape, but don't expect to see it played on the local news more than once or twice (they'll save that for the special shows the networks run during ratings sweeps). And here's a follow-up to the story
FBI Probes Explosion of Pa. Bank Robber
FBI Releases Photos, Seeks Leads in Case of Pa. Man Killed by Explosive After Robbing Bank[/i]
ERIE, Pa. Sept. 2 —
The FBI on Tuesday released photos of a metal collar found around the neck of a pizza deliveryman who robbed a bank and then was killed when a bomb strapped to his body exploded.
FBI Agent Bob Rudge said the bureau hopes that by releasing the photos of the collar and locking device, someone may come forward to help law enforcement solve the strange case.
Arrested Thursday after a bank robbery, Brian Douglas Wells told authorities someone had forced him to rob the bank. He told officers a bomb was attached to him, but he died when it exploded before the bomb squad could get there.
At a news conference Tuesday, Rudge showed photographs of the triple-banded metal collar he said was around Wells' neck and a lock that kept it in place. The bomb was attached to the collar, authorities said.
Police had surrounded Wells, 46, a short time after he robbed a PNC Bank branch outside Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania. Wells had gone to deliver a pizza to a mysterious address in a remote area about an hour before he turned up at the bank with the bomb strapped to his body.
When police stopped Wells, he told them about the bomb and asked why authorities weren't helping to get it off him. Police backed off and were waiting for the bomb squad when the bomb exploded. No one else was injured.
According to police and the FBI, Wells produced an "extensive" robbery note at the bank, which has been sent to handwriting experts. Rudge did not release any additional information about the note Tuesday.
Meanwhile, officials released information from an autopsy on one of Wells' co-workers, Robert Pinetti, 43, who was found dead Sunday at his home in nearby Lawrence Park Township. Authorities do not know if his death is connected with Wells' case.
Pinetti had a history of substance abuse and preliminary testing appeared to show methadone and "valium-type" drugs in his system, authorities said. There was no trauma, officials said.
