Barefoot Bandit Colton Harris-Moore pleads guilty

Young 'Barefoot Bandit' who spent two years on the run in stolen planes, boats and cars pleads guilty and now faces 5-6 years in jail

• Colton Harris-Moore, 20, changed plea to guilty
• He lived on the run from April 2008 to July 2010
• Allegedly committed 100+ crimes, some while barefoot

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 11:05 PM on 17th June 2011

Pleaded: Colton Harris-Moore, aka the Barefoot Bandit, pleaded guilty to a string of sensational thefts

The young Washington state man who gained international notoriety during a two-year run from the law in stolen boats, cars and planes has pleaded guilty to seven charges in the 'Barefoot Bandit' case.

Colton Harris-Moore, 20, entered the plea in federal court Friday morning, reversing a not guilty plea made last week and ending the latest chapter in his fugitive saga.

He could receive between 5 1/4 and 6 1/2 years in prison when he's sentenced in October, said Harris-Moore's attorney, John Henry Browne.

Federal prosecutors were to give details of the plea deal reached with the 20-year-old's lawyers after the Friday morning hearing.

The two sides had been negotiating whether Harris-Moore could participate in book or movie deals, with proceeds used to repay victims. His lawyers have said restitution could total about $1.3 million.

Prosecutors have said Harris-Moore hopscotched his way across the United States, frequently crash-landing planes in rural areas and stealing cars from parking lots at small airports.

In Indiana, he stole another plane and made for the Bahamas, where he was captured last July.

Harris-Moore earned the 'Barefoot Bandit' moniker by committing some of the alleged crimes without shoes.

His escapades earned him cult status as an authority-mocking folk hero, and federal prosecutors have expressed reluctance to let him sell his story because it could compound the publicity he's received.

Colton Harris-Moore could have gotten decades in jail, but his plea deal is likely to net him just a few years behind bars

Notoriety: Harris-Moore, dubbed the 'Barefoot Bandit', is charged with stealing cars, aircraft and boats while on the run from a safe house in 2008

Harris-Moore is also expected to face state charges later on in the county where his crimes began.

The federal charges, though, stem from a spate of crimes in late 2009 and early 2010, when Harris-Moore is accused of flying a stolen plane from Anacortes, in northwestern Washington, to the San Juan Islands.

Authorities say he then stole a pistol in eastern British Columbia and took a plane from a hangar in Idaho, where investigators found bare footprints on the floor and wall. That plane crashed near Granite Falls, Wash., after it ran out of fuel, prosecutors said.

He made his way to Oregon in a 32-foot boat stolen in southwestern Washington - stopping first to leave $100 at an animal shelter in Raymond, Wash. From Oregon, authorities said, Harris-Moore travelled across the United States until he made it to the Bahamas

In all, Harris-Moore is suspected of more than 100 crimes across nine states.

Harris-Moore's lawyer, John Henry Browne, said his client has already agreed that he does not want to benefit from his past behaviour.

'Everything is already agreed to. Colton does not and did not want a dime and thinks it's wrong to benefit from this,' Browne told the Seattle Times.

Captured: A sign at a real estate office in Washington shows support for the capture of Harris-Moore

SENSATIONAL SPREE

Colton Harris-Moore is suspected of more than 100 crimes across nine states, in an alleged spree from April 2008 until July 2010.

He is accused of:

• Walking away from a three-year sentence in a half-way house in April 2008
• Flying a stolen plane from Anacortes, northwest Washington, to the San Juan Islands;
  
• Stealing a pistol in British Columbia;
• Stealing a plane from a hangar and flying it to Granite Falls, Washington, where it crashed after running out of fuel;
• Stealing a 32ft boat in southwestern Washington and taking it to Oregon;
• From Oregon, authorities said he made his way across the U.S., frequently stealing cars from airport car parks until he got to Indiana, where he is alleged to have stolen another plane and made for the Bahamas
  

I think this kid is very talented. I'm a pilot and Colt seems to have natural talent:) Rather than rotting in a prison cell, enduring rape and learning to be a better criminal I suggest sending him to the Air Force.