The Pizza Bomber case is probably the most notorious crime in Erie's history.
The defendants were sentenced, and you may have considered the case closed, but nearly 14 years later, the FBI is just now getting rid of the evidence, in the case.

Duct tape, a shirt, metal pieces, and wiring are just some of the evidence seized nearly 14 years ago, as part of the complex investigation into a deadly robbery scheme.
It's a crime that made national headlines, because it was such a bizarre and complex crime.

It would become known as the Pizza Bomber case, it happened back on August 28th, 2003.

Brian Wells robbed a Peach street bank, and was killed shortly after, when a collar bomb locked around his neck, detonated.

Through the course of the investigation, the FBI learned the day of the crime, Wells, who was a pizza delivery driver,  delivered a pizza to 8631 Peach street. Which happens to be the site of WSEE's transmitter tower. Investigators say it was there that Wells' co-conspirators forced the bomb on his neck, Wells thought it was going to be fake.

So, the FBI got a search warrant and seized this evidence from one of the buildings on the Erie News Now property, "We had to make sure that anything on that property, we went through and looked at very carefully," said Retired FBI Special Agent Jerry Clark, who was the lead investigator on the case.

The FBI just returned the evidence to Erie News Now, saying it has no future value to them.

A lot of it appears to be junk; wires, and metal.

But Dr. Clark says, at the time, it appeared it could contribute to the case.
Some of the wires and tubes, looked similar to the items used to make the time bomb, "What you're looking for with search warrants is anything that could be attached to the crime. So whether it was the making of the device, the writing of the notes, anything involved the case at all, we'll try to take and obtain for our case to look over as evidence," said Clark.

Dr. Clark is now an Assistant Professor of the Criminal Justice Program at Gannon University.

Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Randy Barnes were convicted, and are serving time in federal prisons for their role in the deadly robbery. A third suspect, Bill Rothstein, was never charged, and died in 2004.

With the case now officially closed, the FBI will destroy the evidence they used in the trial, and return or throw out the rest, as they say it has no further value to the FBI, "It takes a long time to collect evidence, analyze evidence, go through your trial process, get adjudication, go to sentencing, and then once you've exhausted all appeals in the case, that's when evidence, can be destroyed or really disposed of," said Dr. Clark.