A man stalking Sandra Bullock reportedly took his own life on Wednesday after a tense stand-off with police.
Joshua Corbett, 42, had a history of stalking the actress. On May 2, he apparently killed himself after barricading himself inside his Los Angeles home, according to a report by TMZ. The police were at Corbett’s home to arrest him for violating his probation, but instead found him inside with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that they found Corbett inside of his home with an injury, though they would not say whether that was how he died. The outlet reports that Corbett threatened officers when they arrived at his house, prompting a S.W.A.T. team to be called to the scene. Hostage negotiators spend about five hours trying to reason with the 42-year-old.
Corbett was on probation for charges of felony stalking and burglary, after he broke into Sandra Bullock‘s home in 2014. He agreed to a plea deal where he would be monitored by a probation officer and mental health professionals for five years.
Last June, Corbett was released from a mental health facility. However, he was ordered to continue outpatient treatment as a term of his sentence.
Bullock had a permanent restraining order against Corbett after the break-in. She testified last June, pointing out that a notebook found by police and apparently written by Corbett expressed his desire to sexually assault her.
Bullock lives with her adopted children, Louis and Laila. She was home during Corbett’s 2014 break-in, and reportedly heard him moving around in her house. She hid in a closet and discretely called police.
When he was arrested, Corbett was unarmed. However, he was carrying a black notebook and a two page letter to Bullock, as well as magazine photos of her. Later, police found a number of automatic weapons and illegal tracer ammunition in his home. The illegal weapons were there in addition to the eight legal firearms Corbett owned, which he was required to surrender as part of the restraining order.
A Los Angeles appeals court later ruled that police had searched Corbett’s home illegally, and the guns weren’t included as evidence. In court, Corbett expressed remorse for his actions.
“I’d already hurt somebody that I didn’t intend to,” he said. “I did not want to affect my family with my actions.”
