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Man denies knowing bank robber
ERIE, Pa., Sept. 6 — A man who says his girlfriend is a cousin of the pizza deliveryman killed after a bank robbery by the explosion of a bomb locked to his neck says investigators seized his tools and computer, but he denied Saturday that he ever met the dead man.
“THERE IS no relationship. I don’t know Brian Wells,†Jimmy Johnson, 46, of Erie, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Wells, 46, was arrested and handcuffed Aug. 28 following a PNC Bank robbery near Erie, but was killed when the bomb attached to a collar locked around his neck exploded while he and police waited for a bomb squad.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Wells locked the bomb onto himself, or if it was locked onto him by someone else who forced him to rob the bank.
Investigators searched Johnson’s apartment on Friday, taking tools and his laptop computer. He told The AP that the search warrant was for items such as explosives and firearms.
“I know they didn’t find anything like that because I don’t keep nothing like that here,†Johnson said.
Johnson said his girlfriend, whom he identified only as Angie, was Wells’ cousin. Johnson said the couple spoke to FBI agents earlier because Angie had left messages on Wells’ answering machine asking him to give her a ride days before he was killed.
Johnson said they had no involvement in the incident.
Wells’ landlord and neighbor, Linda Payne, said a woman named Angie used to visit Wells at his apartment. She said Wells had identified Angie as a former school mate.
FBI agent Bill Crowley refused to comment on the investigation Saturday.
GARAGE SEARCHED
On Friday, Marilyn Torres, 37, said the FBI searched her garage after telling her they believed Johnson used the building with the knowledge of her son. A man identifying himself as Torres’ son Daniel, 21, told The AP on Saturday that he didn’t recognize a photo of Johnson that authorities showed him.
Torres’ boyfriend Willie Feliciano, 40, said investigators took items including screwdrivers, duct tape, a piece of a rug, and some bolts and ratchets from the couple’s two-car detached garage.
Johnson said he has never been to the garage and does not know the couple.
Officials at two companies where Johnson used to work told a newspaper that FBI agents asked them about the unemployed maintenance technician and his mechanical abilities. Employees at EMSCO Inc. in Girard told the FBI that Johnson didn’t have the expertise to build the collar locked to Wells’ neck, the Erie Times-News reported Saturday. Officials at the other plant, Engineered Plastics in Erie, wouldn’t comment further.
WELLS CARRIED ‘CANE GUN’
Also on Friday, NBC News reported that Wells was carrying a second customized weapon during the bizarre bank heist — a single-shot firearm disguised as a walking cane.
The weapon, apparently custom-built, was recovered from Wells’ car when he was arrested.
In an interview on NBC’s “Today†show, former FBI profiler Cliff Van Zandt said the “cane gun†was an archaic weapon that enjoyed a brief period of popularity in the late 19th century.
The Erie Times and News reported Friday that Wells carried the cane gun into the bank but never used it to threaten workers. Quoting an unidentified witness to the robbery, the newspaper said that the cane “had buttons on it.â€
The witness also said that Wells patiently waited his turn in line — despite the live bomb locked onto his neck — before handing the teller a lengthy note demanding $250,000 in cash, the newspaper said. According to the account, which also relied on a source close to the investigation, Wells told the teller the device around his neck “is going off in 22 minutes.†He also told the teller he would be back to get more money before walking out of the bank a bag full of cash, but not the full amount requested.
Separately, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, citing a law enforcement official it did not identify, reported that a note found with Wells told him to go to three locations after committing the crime and said he would find instructions at those locations on how to disarm the bomb.
A law enforcement official who spoke with The AP on condition of anonymity confirmed that the note instructed Wells to go to three locations after the crime, but the official would not confirm the other portion of the newspaper’s report.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/959687.asp?0cv=CB20
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Sounds like they are moving pretty fast on this and getting some very interesting leads.
ERIE, Pa., Sept. 6 — A man who says his girlfriend is a cousin of the pizza deliveryman killed after a bank robbery by the explosion of a bomb locked to his neck says investigators seized his tools and computer, but he denied Saturday that he ever met the dead man.
“THERE IS no relationship. I don’t know Brian Wells,†Jimmy Johnson, 46, of Erie, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Wells, 46, was arrested and handcuffed Aug. 28 following a PNC Bank robbery near Erie, but was killed when the bomb attached to a collar locked around his neck exploded while he and police waited for a bomb squad.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Wells locked the bomb onto himself, or if it was locked onto him by someone else who forced him to rob the bank.
Investigators searched Johnson’s apartment on Friday, taking tools and his laptop computer. He told The AP that the search warrant was for items such as explosives and firearms.
“I know they didn’t find anything like that because I don’t keep nothing like that here,†Johnson said.
Johnson said his girlfriend, whom he identified only as Angie, was Wells’ cousin. Johnson said the couple spoke to FBI agents earlier because Angie had left messages on Wells’ answering machine asking him to give her a ride days before he was killed.
Johnson said they had no involvement in the incident.
Wells’ landlord and neighbor, Linda Payne, said a woman named Angie used to visit Wells at his apartment. She said Wells had identified Angie as a former school mate.
FBI agent Bill Crowley refused to comment on the investigation Saturday.
GARAGE SEARCHED
On Friday, Marilyn Torres, 37, said the FBI searched her garage after telling her they believed Johnson used the building with the knowledge of her son. A man identifying himself as Torres’ son Daniel, 21, told The AP on Saturday that he didn’t recognize a photo of Johnson that authorities showed him.
Torres’ boyfriend Willie Feliciano, 40, said investigators took items including screwdrivers, duct tape, a piece of a rug, and some bolts and ratchets from the couple’s two-car detached garage.
Johnson said he has never been to the garage and does not know the couple.
Officials at two companies where Johnson used to work told a newspaper that FBI agents asked them about the unemployed maintenance technician and his mechanical abilities. Employees at EMSCO Inc. in Girard told the FBI that Johnson didn’t have the expertise to build the collar locked to Wells’ neck, the Erie Times-News reported Saturday. Officials at the other plant, Engineered Plastics in Erie, wouldn’t comment further.
WELLS CARRIED ‘CANE GUN’
Also on Friday, NBC News reported that Wells was carrying a second customized weapon during the bizarre bank heist — a single-shot firearm disguised as a walking cane.
The weapon, apparently custom-built, was recovered from Wells’ car when he was arrested.
In an interview on NBC’s “Today†show, former FBI profiler Cliff Van Zandt said the “cane gun†was an archaic weapon that enjoyed a brief period of popularity in the late 19th century.
The Erie Times and News reported Friday that Wells carried the cane gun into the bank but never used it to threaten workers. Quoting an unidentified witness to the robbery, the newspaper said that the cane “had buttons on it.â€
The witness also said that Wells patiently waited his turn in line — despite the live bomb locked onto his neck — before handing the teller a lengthy note demanding $250,000 in cash, the newspaper said. According to the account, which also relied on a source close to the investigation, Wells told the teller the device around his neck “is going off in 22 minutes.†He also told the teller he would be back to get more money before walking out of the bank a bag full of cash, but not the full amount requested.
Separately, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, citing a law enforcement official it did not identify, reported that a note found with Wells told him to go to three locations after committing the crime and said he would find instructions at those locations on how to disarm the bomb.
A law enforcement official who spoke with The AP on condition of anonymity confirmed that the note instructed Wells to go to three locations after the crime, but the official would not confirm the other portion of the newspaper’s report.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/959687.asp?0cv=CB20
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Sounds like they are moving pretty fast on this and getting some very interesting leads.
