January 27, 2012 2:49 PM

"Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore sentenced to 6 1/2 years in jail

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Colton Harris-Moore

(Credit: AP Photo/ Island County Sheriff's Office)
(CBS/AP) SEATTLE - A federal judge sentenced "Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore to 6 and-a-half years in prison for his infamous two-year, international crime spree of break-ins, boat and plane thefts that ended in 2010.

Authorities say Harris-Moore made his way across the United States in the stolen vehicles. He flew a stolen plane to the San Juan Islands, stole a pistol in British Columbia and took a plane from Idaho to Washington state. He then stole a boat in Washington to go to Oregon, and took a plane in Indiana and flew it to the Bahamas, where he was arrested. 

Pictures: Barefoot Bandit on the Run

Harris-Moore earned his name because he committed several of the crimes without wearing shoes.

He addressed the court before U.S. Judge Richard Jones imposed the sentence, which will be served concurrently with state prison time.

The "Bandit" said he was remorseful and that it would be "no stretch of the imagination to say that I'm lucky to be alive."

In recently released emails the 20-year-old called the Island County Sheriff names, and described his thieving feats as  "amazing," saying they were unmatched by anyone except the Wright Brothers.

Harris-Moore's attorneys acknowledged that in certain instances he bragged, but they said those writings were simply the product of an impulsive adolescent and don't reflect his true remorse.

Complete "Barefoot Bandit" Coverage on Crimesider



Add a Comment See all 44 Comments
by Martha12345 January 30, 2012 9:00 AM EST
6 1/2 years ? So that means he got about 4 months for each criminal act? He must be a politician or a celebrity.
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by longtree-2009 January 29, 2012 6:02 PM EST
hope this narcissistic boy gets nailed over and over in prison. too bad he wasn't shot dead while committing his crimes. don't know of anyone that likes a thief. too bad his hands, at least one of them, can't be cut off to brand him a thief so all will beware of his sorry behind.
Reply to this comment
by MalloryDavis January 30, 2012 6:20 AM EST
His crimes were not so bad as to wish him to get hurt in prison\jail. No one deserves maltreatment. How perfect and pure you must be. Please start a cult so those who have no compassion or mercy can join you and your ugly ideals. Then we'll know where all you icky people are-so we can stay away.

Colton is just a kid...jail\prison will do him more harm than if he were to have counceling. FtG and YOU!
by kayers43yahoocom January 29, 2012 9:54 AM EST
"smarter after prison"....a prison in the sky, maybe. I don't know of any prison where this kid will benefit from being there. He needs help. He needs a caring family, a mentor, someone who will feed, clothe and really see that he grows up using his smartness in more constructive ways.
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by endrepubs January 28, 2012 4:20 PM EST
I think that kid is going to be very successful after prison. He is obviously smart but untamed.
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by oldabner January 28, 2012 1:23 PM EST
When he gets out of the joint, get him as job as a flight instructor for the Somali air force.
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by TrickyWV January 28, 2012 3:12 PM EST
tisk tisk.. sounds like you are a tad bit jealous of him
by TrickyWV January 28, 2012 3:13 PM EST
tisk tisk.. sounds like you are a tad bit jealous of him. Maybe you prefer the POLITICAL THIEVES you keep re-electing to office.
by MacDerb January 28, 2012 8:40 AM EST
I seriously doubt considering our exceptionally competent sheriff and police departments, that this young man could have possibly pulled all of this off without assistance - aiders/abettors, some that turned a blind eye to his conduct.

Correct? And that might include some of our nation's finest.
Reply to this comment
by TrickyWV January 28, 2012 7:43 AM EST
It was property damage. Kids don't understand money.
He never physically harmed a soul.

Colton has a lot of people who care about him, believe in him, and hope the best for him. I am one.

Trust me folks - Colton has done FAR LESS CRIMES than many of your own elected officials - and sadly, you will go right out and re-elect them to office to continue robbing you blind.
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by oldabner January 28, 2012 1:19 PM EST
He's a punk and a criminal and anybody who supports him is an *****.
by MalloryDavis January 30, 2012 7:41 AM EST
Tricky: I am with you-agree with all you have stated. Aren't some people totally unmerciful and ugly inside?
by longtree-2009 January 28, 2012 5:10 AM EST
too bad someone didn't shoot him dead while he was committing a crime. too bad he didn't resist arrest violently so that officers could shoot him dead. too bad he couldn't get a longer prison term. perhaps karma will deal with him in prison.
Reply to this comment
by tmn January 28, 2012 8:07 AM EST
So, what are you saying?
by pete_in_az January 28, 2012 11:43 AM EST
That he is an angry christian conservative (a contradiction in itself) incapable of the concept of forgiveness or redemption to anyones sins other than their own.
by taxchurches January 28, 2012 2:57 AM EST
Funny, several people say this kid doesn't strike them as a "criminal type." What exactly is a criminal? Someone who commits crimes, which he most certainly did. He strike me as very much the criminal type: got started young, bragged about his crimes. Furthermore, he didn't commit crimes out of need; no one actually needs a plane to survive. He committed his crimes for kicks, or to fulfill some defective inner need. Sounds like a "criminal type" to me.
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by rwsmith29456 January 28, 2012 1:48 AM EST
18 is a little old to be pleading adolescence as the cause.
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