Indictment: Bomb Victim in on Bank Plot

Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong is lead to court for her preliminary hearing on charges that she shot a man and then stuffed his body into a freezer with the help of her former fiancee at the Erie County Courthouse, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004, in Erie, Pa. Two people, including Diehl-Armstrong, who is serving time on unrelated charges, have been notified by federal authorities that they face possible charges of bank robbery, conspiracy and using a firearm in connection with a violation in a perplexing case in which a pizza deliveryman was killed when a bomb attached to a collar fastened to his neck exploded. (AP Photo/The Erie Times-News, Janet B. Campbell, File) MEADVILLE OUT (AP)

ERIE, Pa. -- A pizza deliveryman who robbed a bank and was then blown up by a bomb locked around his neck helped plan the robbery and then got caught up in something "much more sinister," a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.

The deliveryman, Brian Wells, 46, had told police before the bomb exploded in August 2003 that he was an innocent victim and had been forced by gunmen to rob the bank.

However, in the indictments unsealed Wednesday, Wells is named as a co-conspirator. Two other people _ Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, who is currently serving a prison sentence for killing her boyfriend, and her friend Kenneth E. Barnes _ are charged with bank robbery, conspiracy and a firearms count.

Authorities said Diehl-Armstrong, 58, wanted the money so she could pay someone to kill her father, but they said Wednesday that they didn't know what motive Wells might have had for getting involved.

Wells' brother John was visibly outraged after prosecutors held a news conference saying his brother was in on the plot.

"Where is the evidence? There is no evidence. You cannot link a man when there is no evidence," John Wells said, his voice trembling with anger. "When he was accosted at gunpoint, taken from his job, that's not a co-conspirator."

"Brian did not put that collar on himself," John Wells said. He also accused investigators of not doing their jobs and said "the truth will come out."

The indictments say Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes contrived a series of notes to make Wells appear to be "merely a hostage," with the plan being to get the money from Wells in a way that if he was caught, he could claim he was an unwilling participant. According to the indictments, they locked a live bomb onto Well's neck to ensure he turned over the money.

"If he died, he could not be a witness," authorities said in the indictment.

The bomb that killed Wells was on a timer, but it was unclear if his co-conspirators planned on his death, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said Wednesday. She described Wells as having a limited role in the plot and said she couldn't comment on what his motive might have been.

"Sadly, the plans of these other individuals were much more sinister ... and he died as a result," Buchanan said. "It may be that his role transitioned from that of the planing stages to being an unwilling participant in the scheme."

Diehl-Armstrong is currently serving a state prison sentence for killing her boyfriend, James Roden. In the indictment, authorities say she killed Roden to keep him from disclosing details of the robbery plot.