Witness in collar bomb trial gets reduced sentence

ERIE, Pa. – A Pennsylvania man has received a reduced sentence for his testimony against the alleged mastermind of a bank robbery plot that ended with a pizza delivery driver being killed by a bomb strapped to his neck.

The Erie Times-News reports 57-year-old Kenneth Barnes must still serve about 20 years in prison despite Monday's agreement on a reduced sentence.

Barnes had pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 45 years in prison for the August 2003 plot to rob an Erie-area bank that ended in the death of 46-year-old Brian Wells.

Barnes testified that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong hatched the scheme because she wanted money to hire a hit man to kill her father. Diehl-Armstrong was convicted of bank robbery and other charges in November. She has appealed.

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Information from: Erie Times-News, http://www.goerie.com