Random True Story Of A Pizza Delivery Guy, A Bomb Collar, And A Bank Robbery (14 items)

(#2) He Worked As A Pizza Deliveryman For Nearly 30 Years

After dropping out of high school, Wells spent much of his adult life delivering pizzas. In fact, he did it for nearly 30 years. He had been working for Mama Mia Pizza-Ria for the last 10 years in Erie, PA, prior to the incident. His co-workers and bosses described him as a reliable, hardworking employee, which made what came next even more baffling.

Around 1:30 PM on August 28, 2003, he delivered an order to a phony address that turned out to be a TV transmission tower. There, the device was placed around his neck and he received his instructions. Later on, police went to the address and combed the scene, finding Wells's footprints and the tire tracks from his car, but little else.
(#13) '30 Minutes Or Less' Reminded Moviegoers Of 'The Pizza Bomber,' But Filmmakers Said It Was Pure Coincidence

Although 2011's comedy feature about "[a] pizza deliveryman forced to [holdup] a bank while wearing a bomb on his chest" - according to US Weekly's synopsis - shares striking similarities with the true-life story of the CBH, filmmakers claimed their story had no connection with the real-life incident or Brian Wells's 2003 passing.

Wells's family was reportedly not happy by the film's trivial and comedic portrayal of such a sobering event, but producers insisted they hadn't even heard of the IRL tragedy before the film went into production and may have been "only vaguely familiar" with the story. The stars of the show - including Aziz Ansari, Jesse Eisenberg, and Nick Swardson - also maintained there was no connection.
(#8) Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong And Kenneth Barnes Watched The Holdup Go Down

As it turns out, both Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes, from the same car, watched with binoculars as Wells entered the bank. William Rothstein was there as well, having followed Wells in his own vehicle. They then retreated to Rothstein's house, where they all got inside of Rothstein's car.

On the way to their undisclosed destination, Diehl-Armstrong made them stop by the side of the I-79 so that she could pick up something that she had left in a wooded area. She tossed this unknown item into the backseat of the car.
(#12) There Might Be A Movie About The CBH In The Works

In 2012, five producers purchased the rights from authors Jerry Clark and Ed Palattellato - who released numerous books related to the events - to make a full-length movie about the CBH case, according to Movie Insider. Although this feature is still listed as "in development" on IMDB, the working title is The Collar Bomb. No director or writers are listed, and as of 2019, no one has been cast.

The producers have also optioned the rights for Wired's 2010 article of the events, written by Rich Schapiro.
(#5) Wells Worked With Several Accomplices To Plan The CBH

The bank holdup itself was planned by Wells and two of his co-conspirators, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes. Diehl-Armstrong contracted Barnes to take her father's life, leaving her to inherit his money. He wanted $125,000 to perform the hit. In order to finance the contract, Diehl-Armstrong convinced Wells to shake down a bank for at least $250,000. Diehl-Armstrong promised Wells a cut of the loot; he needed the money because, apparently, he had a bit of a prostitution-induced debt problem.

After Barnes was given his $125,000, the rest of the money would be split by those involved, which included the man who built the device, William Rothstein, and another man, Floyd Stockton.
(#3) He Carried A Wooden Cane That Had Been Turned Into A Single Barrel Shotgun

When the police searched Wells's car, they found a wooden cane that had been turned into a shotgun. Reportedly, this was given to him by his co-conspirators, just in case things went south when he was in the bank. Wells carried the homemade single barrel with him while holding up the bank.

He handed a note to the teller, demanding $250,000, but the teller told him they didn't have access to that amount. Wells ended up walking out with under $9,000.