Today is Sunday, August 28, 2022.

On this day in 2003, a pizza delivery man named Brian Wells attempted to rob a bank in Pennsylvania with a bomb fastened to his neck.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Today we're covering the Collar Bomb Heist, a bank robbery attempt that ended in tragedy.

Now let's go back to PNC Bank in Erie, Pennsylvania on August 28, 2003.

It was around 2.30 in the afternoon when Brian Wells entered the building.

A black cane held firmly in his right hand.

He walked up to a teller and handed her a piece of paper.

When she inspected it, her heart nearly stopped.

The note ordered her to go into the bank's vault and fill up a bag with $250,000. It said that she only had 15 minutes or else. When she looked

back up at Wells, he lifted his shirt to reveal a bomb hanging from his neck. The terrified

bank teller told Wells that she couldn't access the vault, but proceeded to fill a bag with whatever

cash she could find,

roughly $8,700. After she handed him the sack, he plucked a lollipop from a bowl on her desk

and popped it in his mouth. Then he walked to the door, swinging the bag of money in hand.

The second he was outside, the teller called the police and reported

the robbery. Fifteen minutes later, state troopers located Wells, standing in a parking lot outside

of his car. They tackled him to the ground and handcuffed him. But Wells started screaming.

He told the officers that he was just a delivery man.

Earlier that day, three men had called him for a pizza. When he got to their address, they held a gun to his head,

fastened a bomb around his neck, and told him if he didn't rob the bank, they'd detonate it.

The troopers weren't sure if they bought the story, but they called the

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