James Warner, former airport official convicted in record-setting bribe scheme, found dead after failing to report to prison

A judge is defending how she handled the case of a former Detroit-area airport official who killed himself rather than report to prison for accepting more than $6 million in kickbacks in a record-setting corruption investigation.

James Warner's body was discovered Friday, a day after he was supposed to turn himself in for a 10-year sentence. He was convicted in 2019 but allowed to remain free while pursuing appeals.

On Thursday, an emergency request for an arrest warrant was approved after prosecutors said Warner failed to surrender at 10 a.m.