Brian Wells Sat Handcuffed in This Parking Lot as the Bomb Around His Neck Counted Down

The Brian Wells collar-bomb case ended in an ordinary commercial parking lot beside Peach Street. Minutes after robbing a nearby PNC Bank and retrieving the first clue in a scavenger hunt from McDonald's, Wells encountered Pennsylvania State Police near Eyeglass World. Officers ordered him from his vehicle and handcuffed him. Then they realized what was underneath his shirt. A large metal collar was locked around Wells' neck and attached to an elaborate homemade explosive device. Wells told police that people at his pizza delivery location had forced the bomb onto him and ordered him to rob the bank. Once officers recognized the potential danger, they moved away and called the bomb squad. Wells remained seated on the pavement with his hands restrained behind him. The scene became increasingly desperate as the minutes passed. News cameras recorded Wells speaking to officers from a distance and warning them that he did not have much time. The bomb squad was on its way, but traffic delayed its arrival. At 3:18 p.m., the device detonated. Wells died in the parking lot. Investigators recovered a lengthy set of handwritten instructions describing a series of stops Wells was supposed to visit after the robbery. Federal prosecutors eventually charged Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes in the conspiracy, and both received prison sentences. Authorities alleged Wells had initially been involved in the robbery plan but had been deceived about the bomb being real, a conclusion his family disputed. Eyeglass World still operates on Peach Street. The asphalt outside looks like any other parking lot along the busy commercial corridor. But this was where the bizarre robbery stopped being merely a strange bank crime and became one of the most infamous bomb cases in FBI history.