"Barefoot Bandit" Pleads Guilty in the Bahamas, Faces Deportation

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Colton Harris-Moore (Mug Shot)

NASSAU, Bahamas (CBS/AP) Colton Harris-Moore, dubbed the "Barefoot Bandit" by police, has pleaded guilty to a minor offense in the Bahamas and is expected to soon be deported to the United States.

PICTURES: Barefoot Bandit on the Run

Harris-Moore pleaded guilty to illegal landing and swimming to the Bahamas in his first court appearance in Nassau on Tuesday. He faces a $300 fine or three months in jail, and deportation.

Colton was wearing shorts and a Bahamas T-shirt under a bullet proof vest. Despite his nickname, he was wearing unlaced white sneakers for the proceeding.

Police SWAT team members with machine guns and wearing full face masks were present at the courthouse.

Harris-Moore was captured Sunday morning in the Bahamas a week after his crash-landing of a stolen plane there.

Harris-Moore had allegedly committed several nighttime burglaries in the Bahamas, and had previously eluded an FBI-aided manhunt on Great Abaco Island, the sliver of an island where he apparently crash-landed the stolen plane.

In the U.S., Harris-Moore has become a folk hero with a fan club hawking T-shirts emblazoned with his image, songs about his exploits and tens of thousands of followers on Facebook.

He has been on the run from American law enforcement since escaping from a Washington state halfway house in 2008.

He faces burglary and theft charges in several U.S. states; he is suspected of having having stolen four planes in the U.S.

Complete "Barefoot Bandit" Coverage on Crimesider.

21 Photos

"Barefoot Bandit" Arrested in the Bahamas

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by phil8192 July 13, 2010 4:14 PM EDT: Attaway to go, dork -- 19 years old, on the threshold of life and starting out with a felony record. At least he's old enough now to be prosecuted as an adult and will have to face the consequences of his actions.; Reply to this comment