Mississippi man who threatened to crash stolen plane into Walmart died in federal custody after being 'found unresponsive' in his cell, officials say

• A Mississippi man who was accused of threatening to crash a stolen plane earlier this year died Monday in federal custody, officials said.
• Cory Patterson, 29, stole a plane in Tupelo, Mississippi in September, according to police.

A Mississippi man who was facing felony charges for stealing a plane and threatening to crash it into a Walmart earlier this year died Monday in federal custody, prison officials said.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons told Insider in a statement that Cory Wayne Patterson, 29, died in the Federal Detention Center in Miami, Florida. Patterson's cause of death in custody is unclear and the BOP declined to provide Insider with any further information related to Patterson's death in a statement on Wednesday.

Patterson was arrested on September 3 and charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats after police said he stole a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air plane from the Tupelo Regional Airport around 5 a.m., according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

The BOP said in its statement that Patterson "was found unresponsive" in his cell around 1 pm and then "responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures." Paramedics arrived and continued live-saving measures before pronouncing Patterson dead, according to the BOP.

The BOP said in the statement that the Federal Bureau of Investigation unit and United States Marshals Service were "notified" of Patterson's death.

Patterson had been transferred to FDC Miami just four days before his death, the BOP said.

According to The Daily Journal, after stealing the plane, Patterson called the police and threatened to intentionally fly it into a Walmart. Patterson flew the plane for around five hours before crash-landing it in a bean field near the Tennessee border in North Mississippi, per The Daily Journal.

A note written by Patterson found in the wreckage said he was at the end of his rope and chose Walmart because it would be easy to evacuate, The Daily Journal reported. Patterson told the 911 dispatcher, "I just don't want to live anymore and want to cause chaos while I'm at it."