The international effort to capture an elusive Camano Island man who’d fled his home country and was prowling the Bahamas ended a year ago today.
Colton Harris-Moore, the notorious “Barefoot Bandit,” was handcuffed on a sandbar before dawn after a hail of gunfire on July 11, 2010.
Locals cheered the arrest as the lanky 6-foot, 5-inch fugitive was brought to shore, ending a saga that began more than two years earlier.
Today, Harris-Moore is behind bars awaiting sentencing on federal charges and eager to apologize to his victims, his attorney said.
“He wants, and has for sometime, to write letters of apology, but we have told him to wait until the state cases are done,” Seattle defense attorney John Henry Browne said.
Harris-Moore, 20, had been scheduled for trial beginning today in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Instead, he pleaded guilty last month to a seven-count indictment linked to his multi-state crime spree that included plane theft, boat theft, an Orcas Island bank burglary and weapons violations.
He faces more than a decade in prison if convicted of state charge that still must be adjudicated in Island County Superior Court.
“He has never made excuses for his behavior or tried to blame his problematic childhood on anyone,” Browne said.
Browne took the case after Harris-Moore’s mother solicited the high-profile lawyer’s help. Browne talked to Harris-Moore and agreed to take the case.
“It has turned into hundreds of hours of work which has drained my resources and taxed our physical stamina,” Browne said.
The attorney doesn’t have regrets.
“All in all, it has been worth it to see the sometimes unnecessarily adversarial system, work with a common goal of seeing that a price is paid by Colt and that he has a future,” Browne said. “It is a great compliment to all those involved, including Colt, to resolve this in a fair manner.”
As part of the plea agreement, Harris-Moore agreed to forfeit any money he makes by selling his story of stealing planes and living on the lam. A movie is said to be in the works.
Harris-Moore owes more than $1.4 million to repay his victims
“He is only interested in book (or) movie deals to make restitution,” Browne said.
He’s already been the subject of two television documentaries. New York University students have produced a film, “Stealing Suburbia,” loosely based on his story and Twentieth Century Fox obtained theatrical rights to the story.
Harris-Moore still has to answer to more than 30 felonies from Snohomish, San Juan, Skagit and Island counties. The cases are expected to be consolidated in Island County.
“We are still trying to get everyone to say ‘yes’ to a date,” Island County Prosecuting Attorney Greg Banks said. It’s looking like the date will be late summer, “later than we had originally anticipated.”
On Camano Island, where Harris-Moore’s criminal history stretches back a decade, residents are relieved to have the story fade.
“I think all of Camano, residents and visitors alike, have just felt more at ease and want to move on with life,” said Josh Flickner, the manager of the Elger Bay Grocery.
Harris-Moore in 2008 crashed a stolen Mercedes into the back of Flickner’s store, damaging a propane tank. Flickner became a de-facto spokesman for the community, appearing on national news programs.
Despite leaving messages drawn in chalk or hand-written notes signed “The Barefoot Bandit” — a reference to Harris-Moore’s penchant for running shoeless from some of his crimes — Harris-Moore doesn’t like the attention his case has received, Browne said.
“The first thing he said to me was he does not want to be a folk hero and did not want other kids to admire him for his exploits,” Browne said. “He hates the attention the press has given him but understands his path is of interest to others.”
After being the subject of a massive manhunt, the subject of a Facebook fan page that drew thousands of visitors, TV specials and a book, Harris-Moore has become introspective, his attorney said.
“The biggest lesson he has learned is that you can never run away from yourself,” Browne said. “I wish I had learned that at his young age.”
Harris-Moore is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 28 for his federal crimes.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3447; jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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