'Barefoot Bandit' gets more than 7 years for spree
Source: Agencies |
December 18, 2011, Sunday
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THE youthful thief who rocketed to international notoriety as the "Barefoot Bandit" while he evaded American police in pilfered cars, boats and planes during a two-year crime spree was sentenced on Friday to more than seven years in a Washington state prison after pleading guilty to dozens of charges.
Colton Harris-Moore, now 20, showed no reaction as the sentence was delivered by a judge who took pity on his bleak upbringing at the hands of an alcoholic mother and a series of her convict boyfriends - a situation she described as a "mind-numbing absence of hope."
"This case is a tragedy in many ways, but it's a triumph of the human spirit in other ways," Judge Vickie Churchill said. "I could have been reading about the history of a mass murderer. I could have been reading about a drug abusive, alcoholic young man. That is the triumph of Colton Harris-Moore: He has survived."
Harris-Moore's daring run from the law earned him international fame and a movie deal to help repay his victims after he flew a stolen plane from Indiana to the Bahamas in July 2010, crash-landed it near a mangrove swamp and was arrested by Bahamian authorities in a hail of bullets.
Friday's proceedings consolidated cases against Harris-Moore in three Washington counties. He has already pleaded guilty to federal charges in Seattle and will be sentenced for those crimes early next year, but the sentence is expected to be shorter than his state term.
Harris-Moore faced a sentencing range of over seven years to just under 10 years.
"Colton's very pleased," said his attorney John Henry Browne. "He was expecting the worst."
Prosecutor Greg Banks said he's glad the case is over and he could live with the sentence.
"I can see why people are sympathetic to him," Banks said. "It's still a significant amount of time for someone who's never been in the adult system."
Wearing handcuffs and an orange jail uniform, Colton Harris-Moore spoke softly in court while entering his pleas.
In a statement provided to the judge, he said his childhood was one he wouldn't wish on his "darkest enemies."
Still, he said he takes full responsibility for the crime spree that brought him international notoriety, and said he learned only too late of the fear he was instilling in his many victims.
Harris-Moore said he studied manuals and online videos to teach himself to be a pilot, and the thrills he experienced while flying stolen planes renewed his passion for life and will help him rehabilitate while in prison.
Colton Harris-Moore, now 20, showed no reaction as the sentence was delivered by a judge who took pity on his bleak upbringing at the hands of an alcoholic mother and a series of her convict boyfriends - a situation she described as a "mind-numbing absence of hope."
"This case is a tragedy in many ways, but it's a triumph of the human spirit in other ways," Judge Vickie Churchill said. "I could have been reading about the history of a mass murderer. I could have been reading about a drug abusive, alcoholic young man. That is the triumph of Colton Harris-Moore: He has survived."
Harris-Moore's daring run from the law earned him international fame and a movie deal to help repay his victims after he flew a stolen plane from Indiana to the Bahamas in July 2010, crash-landed it near a mangrove swamp and was arrested by Bahamian authorities in a hail of bullets.
Friday's proceedings consolidated cases against Harris-Moore in three Washington counties. He has already pleaded guilty to federal charges in Seattle and will be sentenced for those crimes early next year, but the sentence is expected to be shorter than his state term.
Harris-Moore faced a sentencing range of over seven years to just under 10 years.
"Colton's very pleased," said his attorney John Henry Browne. "He was expecting the worst."
Prosecutor Greg Banks said he's glad the case is over and he could live with the sentence.
"I can see why people are sympathetic to him," Banks said. "It's still a significant amount of time for someone who's never been in the adult system."
Wearing handcuffs and an orange jail uniform, Colton Harris-Moore spoke softly in court while entering his pleas.
In a statement provided to the judge, he said his childhood was one he wouldn't wish on his "darkest enemies."
Still, he said he takes full responsibility for the crime spree that brought him international notoriety, and said he learned only too late of the fear he was instilling in his many victims.
Harris-Moore said he studied manuals and online videos to teach himself to be a pilot, and the thrills he experienced while flying stolen planes renewed his passion for life and will help him rehabilitate while in prison.
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