SEATTLE — The Barefoot Bandit should not profit by telling his tale of plane thefts and fleeing from the law, according to a grand jury indictment returned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Colton Harris-Moore, 20, was indicted Wednesd
ay in connection with a Sept. 5, 2009, bank burglary at the Islanders Bank in Eastsound on Orcas Island.
Included in the indictment is forfeiture language that would strip the Camano Island man of “any profits or proceeds connected with any publication or dissemination of information,” the court documents said.
Harris-Moore’s tale of growing up stealing on Camano Island, then escaping a half-way house at 16 only to evade law enforcement for more than two years captured international press attention.
The story of how he piloted airplanes without formal flight training and eluded police capture in nine-states and three countries helped propel Harris-Moore to become an American outlaw folk hero. His peculiar habit of running barefoot from some of his crimes added to his allure, earning him his nickname.
He was arrested, barefoot, on July 11 in the Bahamas. He was returned to the United States where in November he was handed a five-count federal indictment accusing him of stealing two planes, a boat and weapons violations. He entered a not-guilty plea, although subsequent legal filings indicate that he’s expected to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors and avoid a trial.
A change in plea was anticipated by the end of May, although lawyers apparently need a bit more time to work out the complex arrangement.
“It is all coming together,” but it is lots of work, said John Henry Browne, Harris-Moore’s defense attorney.
Browne said he likely would have challenged the forfeiture language in a contested case, saying “it probably is not proper.”
In this case, however, Harris-Moore and federal prosecutors are “all on the same page,” Browne explained in an email.
Any money generated will go to restitution or charity, Browne said.
“Colt has never wanted a dime,” the attorney said.
Federal prosecutors disagreed with Browne’s assertion that the forfeiture isn’t legal.
“With due respect to Mr. Browne, the U.S. Attorney’s Office views the forfeiture language in the Superseding Indictment as proper and consistent with applicable law,” said Darwin Roberts, an assistant U.S. Attorney.
It’s not the first time the federal government has sought to restrict a high-profile criminal suspect from selling his story. John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, faced similar sanctions.
In addition to the federal charges, Harris-Moore faces nearly three dozen state charges in Island, San Juan and Skagit counties, and in the state of Nebraska.
Harris-Moore is scheduled to appear in federal court in Seattle on June 2.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3447; jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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