'Barefoot Bandit' jailed

COUPEVILLE, Washington (CMC):

A serial criminal known as the 'Barefoot Bandit' who crash-landed a plane in The Bahamas has been jailed for seven years and three months for a string of burglaries and identity thefts carried out during a two-year crime spree.

Judge Vicki I. Churchill, of Island County Superior Court in Coupeville, Washington State, imposed the sentence on the Barefoot Bandit, 20, whose real name is Colton Harris-Moore, after he pleaded guilty to 33 state charges, including burglary and identity theft.

The young man had eluded law enforcement for more than two years, becoming something of a folk hero in the process before crashing a plane in July 2010 in The Bahamas.

Washington State had asked the court to sentence Harris-Moore to the maximum sentence of nine years and eight months.

His lawyer, John Henry Browne, had asked for six years, saying that his client's exploits could be explained, in part, by his troubled upbringing.

"I'm not surprised that Colton survived five plane crashes, but I'm completely surprised that he survived his mother," Browne said.

Harris-Moore answered "yes" when Judge Churchill asked him if it was his intention to plead guilty. He had previously pleaded guilty to US federal charges in June.

Harris-Moore, from Camano Island, Washington State, earned his unusual moniker after going on an alleged burglary spree targeting planes, boats and luxury cars in the US and Canada.

Nude Stunts

He was said to have committed some of the crimes without shoes on - and sometimes nude - once leaving behind 39 chalk footprints and the word "C'ya!"

Harris-Moore gained infamy after allegedly teaching himself to fly, then stealing four aircraft, as well as cars, boats, bikes and cash in a spree across Washington State, Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

He evaded authorities for two years but was arrested in July 2010 after a plane he stole in Indiana crash-landed on Great Abaco Island in The Bahamas.

Harris-Moore has signed a US$1.3-million contract with 20th Century Fox Studios for a movie on his life.

He pleaded guilty to seven federal charges in a Seattle court in June, after reaching an agreement with prosecutors that any proceeds he might earn from selling his story would be used to compensate his victims.

Harris-Moore has requested that the first compensation check be sent to the owner of a restaurant on Washington's Orcas Island, where he said he stole US$18,000.

"I hope that some of the people who lost their businesses and some of the people who lost their peace of mind could be compensated," Browne said. "I'm not sure if all that is possible."