Hollywood swoops in to pay ‘Barefoot Bandit’ restitution

SEATTLE — A Hollywood studio has paid more than $1 million to cover court-ordered restitution owed by Colton Harris-Moore, the infamous “Barefoot Bandit.”

The studio, 20th Century Fox, has paid the money in exchange for the rights to Harris-Moore’s story, from his days burglarizing homes and living in the woods on Camano Island to his cross-country odyssey stealing planes and boats and taunting police.

Harris-Moore’s story is now headed toward the big screen. The money mostly paid for three small airplanes he stole and crash-landed and a boat he took in the Bahamas while evading capture. He’s serving more than 7 1/2 years in prison.

The most recent payment — $900,000 — was processed by the U.S. Marshals Service on Nov. 4, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

The studio previously paid more than $216,000 on Harris-Moore’s behalf. That’s all in keeping with a January 2013 forfeiture order approved by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones.

Harris-Moore claimed he taught himself to fly using manuals and a computer flight simulator. He wasn’t very good at landing, crashing all five of the planes he stole.

The Associated Press contributed.

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