Man Who Threatened to Crash Plane Into Mississippi Walmart Found Dead in Federal Custody

Cory Patterson, the man accused of threatening to crash a plane into a Mississippi Walmart has reportedly died in prison.

According to CNN, the 29-year-old man was found unresponsive at 1:20 p.m. Monday at Federal Detention Center Miami, where he was awaiting trial on multiple felony charges. Prison staff and EMS personnel reportedly “initiated life-saving measures” immediately after the discovery; however, the man was pronounced dead at the prison.

Patterson was arrested in early September after he allegedly stole a twin-engine plane from the Tupelo Regional Airport, and threatened to dive bomb into a nearby Walmart. Though he was not a licensed pilot, Patterson had previous flight instruction and was an employee of Tupelo Aviation, which is how he had access to the small plane.

The aircraft eventually landed in a northeast Mississippi field, and an uninjured Patterson was taken into custody and subsequently charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats. CNN reports the man was sent to the Miami detention center for psychological evaluation on Nov. 10, and was found dead four days later. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said “no staff or other inmates were injured and at no time was the public in danger.”

Though officials have not confirmed Patterson’s cause of death, his attorney, Tony Farese, told the network he died by suicide. The lawyer also said the FBI and BOP and FBI would be investigate the death.