A man who threatened to crash a plane into a Mississippi Walmart in September has died in custody.
Cory Wayne Patterson, 29, snatched a small plane in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Patterson worked in Tupelo Aviation. He stole a Beechcraft King Air C-90 twin engine and flew it without having a license. He called 911 and told them that he wanted to crash the plane into a Walmart.
Negotiators talked him out of it, and he landed the plane in Ripley, Mississippi, but he was arrested and charged with destruction of an aircraft and an attempt to commit an offense. He was held in the Federal Detention Center in Miami.
Police retrieved a note written by Patterson from the plane, He said that he chose Walmart because it would be easy to evacuate people on the ground and that he did not want to hurt anybody.
On Monday, November 14, Patterson was found unresponsive in his cell at the federal prison. He had arrived at the prison the previous Thursday.
According to reports, emergency responders tried to revive him, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The incident did not involve any other inmates or staff.
A Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said that there is no update about how the man died.
If Patterson had been convicted, he would have been sentenced up to 25 years in prison,
Police also discovered a “goodbye” message that he posted on Facebook. In the post, Patterson said he was sick of living.
