Man gets 45 years in bank robbery

A man who took part in a bank robbery that turned deadly when a bomb affixed to the neck of a pizza deliveryman exploded was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison.

Kenneth Barnes was “intimately involved” in the plot and not just a minor player, U.S. District Judge Sean McLaughlin said.

Barnes, 55, of Erie had pleaded guilty to using a destructive device during a crime of violence and conspiracy to commit bank robbery. The sentence exceeds the 30-year mandatory minimum.

Prosecutors concluded that the pizza deliveryman, Brian Wells, initially was a participant in the plot but refused to put the bomb on when he realized it was real. He did so only after being threatened with a gun, prosecutors said.