A Tupelo judge has denied bond for the Mississippi man charged for stealing an airplane and threatening to crash into a local Walmart.
On Saturday, 29-year-old Cory Patterson was reported to have taken off in the stolen airplane at the Tupelo Regional Airport around 5:00 a.m. before calling 911 to make the threat. At 9:32 a.m., Patterson made a Facebook post apologizing to his family, with Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka saying that it was Patterson’s “goodbye message.”
“Sorry everyone. Never wanted to actually hurt anyone. I love my parents and sister this isn’t your fault. Goodbye,” the post read.
Patterson continued to fly in circles around the area before landing in a soybean field, with his time in-air totaling over five hours. Benton and Tippah county deputy sheriffs took Patterson into custody at the scene of the crash, where he was charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats.
Now, public defender Dennis Farris has asked for a bond to be issued to Patterson as he did not have a previous record and is from the area. Prosecutor Richard Babb and Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka disagreed, stating that the plane threatened other Mississippians, not just the ones in Tupelo.
“This was not a normal plane crash,” Quaka explained in court on Sunday. “This was a flying bomb.”
Patterson’s case is currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Charges at the federal level could be added at a later date as Sunday’s court hearing only addressed his charges from the state.
Mississippi man arrested for stealing airplane, making terroristic threats
