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Bizarre Robbery

Aired September 03, 2003 - 14:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are also keeping a close eye this hour on Eerie, Pennsylvania. That is where police are seeking the public's help in the baffling death of a pizza deliveryman. The FBI says that the collar that secured a bomb to the neck of 46-year-old Brian Douglas Wells, he said someone had used the bomb to force him to rob a bank. It exploded as he pleaded with police to diffuse it. The FBI says the device had significant lead value if the right person sees it. And that's why they're showing it and sending it out there.
For more to help us understand what that lead could be, we have our correspondent Mike Brooks is here to explain.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this collar is very unique. This whole case is bizarre, Daryn.

KAGAN: It gets stranger and stranger.

BROOKS: It really does. And late yesterday, we also found out that the improvised explosive device that this device was actually holding around his neck was in fact, a pipe bomb. So we found that out from our enforcement sources.

Late last night, the FBI and enforcement members were back at a radio trans-- radio-television transmitter site that is the address where he supposedly delivered the pizza to when he left the shop, delivered the pizza to this remote area, which was a transmitter site. And then la -- then he showed up at the bank with this device on around his neck, robbing the bank, giving the teller a note with instructions of what to do. Finally, he came out and he was caught by Pennsylvania police.

KAGAN: And when he's caught he says, "Please come on, aren't you guys going to do something?" He's claiming he has this bomb on him acting for it to be diffused. And before the Bomb Squad could get there, this thing went off and it killed him.

BROOKS: That's exactly right. They handcuffed him because they treat him like any other perpetrators. And they didn't want to deal with the device because they weren't trained bomb technicians. And he didn't, you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Cops don't do that.

KAGAN: OK. It's like the movies.

BROOKS: It's like the movies. They wait for the cops to come in and tell them -- trained technicians to handle that.

Now also, this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING," Special Agent In Charge Scott McCabe of the Pittsburgh office said that he -- when he called, another unique weapon was in his vehicle. He said it was not what people traditionally think of as a gun. What this is...

KAGAN: What does that mean?

BROOKS: I have no idea.

KAGAN: These are your people. Come on, you understand how they talk.

BROOKS: I tell you, I don't always. It could be anywhere from a spear gun to a, you know, to a point. Who knows what this is. But they're saying they may possibly release this later on, let the public see what this looks like. So it may jog the memory of anyone who may say, hey, I've seen that before. And that's the reason they put the collar and the locking device out yesterday for the public to see also because it's so unique.

And if you look at the locking device, it looks like a tumbler device maybe like...

KAGAN: You want to put that up again?

BROOKS: ... a bicycle lock. And it also looks like a large handcuff that was wrapped around his neck. It was very, very unique...

KAGAN: You don't get those at your average hardware store.

BROOKS: No. And they said -- the FBI said yesterday that these are not commercially available and that they believe they were specifically made to lock this device around his neck.

They are going on three theories still: whether he acted alone, whether he was an accomplice to someone or someone put him up to it, make him do this and forced him to go to the bank with this bomb around his neck.

KAGAN: And then the idea of saying that there was this other unusual, somewhat not what you don't think of as a gun, weapon in his car. If you go on the theory that he was put up to this, and that he was a victim; someone else could have put that weapon in there as well.

BROOKS: They could have. It could be his or someone else. It still goes along with two of the three theories.

KAGAN: Very good.

BROOKS: Very unusual.

KAGAN: We'll be watching it. All right. Michael, thank you for that.

BROOKS: All right, Daryn. KAGAN: We also have that -- we did find that number the FBI for the tip on if someone did in fact -- it's right there on the -- there you go. It's 1-868-219-2008. So if people who recognize the thing about that you can call the FBI.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 3, 2003 - 14:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are also keeping a close eye this hour on Eerie, Pennsylvania. That is where police are seeking the public's help in the baffling death of a pizza deliveryman. The FBI says that the collar that secured a bomb to the neck of 46-year-old Brian Douglas Wells, he said someone had used the bomb to force him to rob a bank. It exploded as he pleaded with police to diffuse it. The FBI says the device had significant lead value if the right person sees it. And that's why they're showing it and sending it out there.
For more to help us understand what that lead could be, we have our correspondent Mike Brooks is here to explain.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this collar is very unique. This whole case is bizarre, Daryn.

KAGAN: It gets stranger and stranger.

BROOKS: It really does. And late yesterday, we also found out that the improvised explosive device that this device was actually holding around his neck was in fact, a pipe bomb. So we found that out from our enforcement sources.

Late last night, the FBI and enforcement members were back at a radio trans-- radio-television transmitter site that is the address where he supposedly delivered the pizza to when he left the shop, delivered the pizza to this remote area, which was a transmitter site. And then la -- then he showed up at the bank with this device on around his neck, robbing the bank, giving the teller a note with instructions of what to do. Finally, he came out and he was caught by Pennsylvania police.

KAGAN: And when he's caught he says, "Please come on, aren't you guys going to do something?" He's claiming he has this bomb on him acting for it to be diffused. And before the Bomb Squad could get there, this thing went off and it killed him.

BROOKS: That's exactly right. They handcuffed him because they treat him like any other perpetrators. And they didn't want to deal with the device because they weren't trained bomb technicians. And he didn't, you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Cops don't do that.

KAGAN: OK. It's like the movies.

BROOKS: It's like the movies. They wait for the cops to come in and tell them -- trained technicians to handle that.

Now also, this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING," Special Agent In Charge Scott McCabe of the Pittsburgh office said that he -- when he called, another unique weapon was in his vehicle. He said it was not what people traditionally think of as a gun. What this is...

KAGAN: What does that mean?

BROOKS: I have no idea.

KAGAN: These are your people. Come on, you understand how they talk.

BROOKS: I tell you, I don't always. It could be anywhere from a spear gun to a, you know, to a point. Who knows what this is. But they're saying they may possibly release this later on, let the public see what this looks like. So it may jog the memory of anyone who may say, hey, I've seen that before. And that's the reason they put the collar and the locking device out yesterday for the public to see also because it's so unique.

And if you look at the locking device, it looks like a tumbler device maybe like...

KAGAN: You want to put that up again?

BROOKS: ... a bicycle lock. And it also looks like a large handcuff that was wrapped around his neck. It was very, very unique...

KAGAN: You don't get those at your average hardware store.

BROOKS: No. And they said -- the FBI said yesterday that these are not commercially available and that they believe they were specifically made to lock this device around his neck.

They are going on three theories still: whether he acted alone, whether he was an accomplice to someone or someone put him up to it, make him do this and forced him to go to the bank with this bomb around his neck.

KAGAN: And then the idea of saying that there was this other unusual, somewhat not what you don't think of as a gun, weapon in his car. If you go on the theory that he was put up to this, and that he was a victim; someone else could have put that weapon in there as well.

BROOKS: They could have. It could be his or someone else. It still goes along with two of the three theories.

KAGAN: Very good.

BROOKS: Very unusual.

KAGAN: We'll be watching it. All right. Michael, thank you for that.

BROOKS: All right, Daryn. KAGAN: We also have that -- we did find that number the FBI for the tip on if someone did in fact -- it's right there on the -- there you go. It's 1-868-219-2008. So if people who recognize the thing about that you can call the FBI.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com