Pilot in custody after threatening to crash into Walmart

Pilot in custody after threatening to crash into Walmart

Cory Wayne Patterson eventually landed his plane in a field.

Cory Wayne Patterson was arrested after he landed in a field of soybeans. (AP Photo/Nikki Boertman)
TUPELO:
The pilot of a small plane who threatened to crash it into a Walmart in Mississippi landed without any injuries, local officials said on Saturday.

Earlier, the police department in Tupelo, Mississippi, said they had been talking directly to the pilot and had evacuated the Walmart and a gas station.

Tupelo police chief John Quaka said the suspect, Cory Wayne Patterson, had been responsible for fuelling aircraft.

While Patterson appeared to have had some flight instruction, he was not a licenced pilot, Quaka said at a news conference.

Patterson was in custody and was being charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats, Quaka said, adding that he expected federal charges as well.

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