Federal officials say the man who was accused of stealing an airplane in Mississippi and then threatened to crash it into a Walmart in September died on Monday while in federal custody.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Cory Wayne Patterson was found unresponsive at a Miami federal prison where he was being held while he awaited trial, the Daily Journal and the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures," officials said in a statement, per the news outlets. "Staff requested emergency medical services and life-saving efforts continued. Mr. Patterson was subsequently pronounced deceased by EMS personnel."
The Associated Press reported that the 29-year-old was arrested on Sept. 3 and federally charged with the destruction of aircraft and an attempt to commit an offense.
An airport worker, Patterson allegedly stole a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air C90A from the Tupelo Regional Airport shortly after 5 a.m., subsequently flying over Northeast Mississippi for five hours before crashing the plane in a bean field in Ripley, Mississippi, the news outlet reported.