Man accused of stealing plane denied bond
The man accused of stealing a plane in Tupelo is denied bond
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The Shannon man who stole a plane and threatened to crash into a Tupelo Walmart is being held without bond.
Cory Wayne Patterson, 29, had his initial hearing this afternoon in Tupelo Municipal Court.
During the brief hearing, police gave a synopsis of Saturday’s events, which began when Patterson stole a twin-engine plane from Tupelo Regional Airport and circled over West Tupelo.
Police said Patterson called 9 1 1 and threatened to crash the plane into the West Main Walmart. TPD negotiators got on the phone with Patterson, who eventually headed North. About five hours after the incident began, Patterson landed the plane in a soybean field in Tippah County. He was arrested and brought to the Lee County Jail. He is charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats.
Tupelo City Prosecutor Richard Babb asked Judge Jay Weir to deny bond for Patterson.
Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka also spoke during the hearing, saying that although Patterson didn’t follow through on his threat, he still could have caused significant loss of life and property damage, due to his lack of training.
Public Defender Dennis Farris Junior asked that bond be granted because Patterson has no criminal record and did not carry out his threat.
“When you take off in an airplane that’s fully loaded and you do not have the skill to land it, it is more than likely going to turn out to be a very bad situation. I’m happy bond was denied for Mr Patterson today, this community can sleep soundly tonight,” said Quaka.
“This is very early, not anything about guilt or innocence at this point, and the threshold of probable cause to bond someone over to a grand jury is pretty low and does not take much for a judge to say, alright there’s enough to move forward,” explained Farris.
Patterson has hired Tony Farese as his defense attorney and has requested a preliminary hearing.
The ongoing investigation includes local, state, and federal agencies.
