Page 29 - atoday

PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Monday 23 November 2015

Hollywood studio pays off ‘Barefoot Bandit’s’ restitution

hunt, while police warned crashed all three of them, nightmare of a child-
that he was dangerous. acknowledging in de- hood of neglect at the
Harris-Moore said he fense documents that he hands of an abusive al-
taught himself how to fly very nearly died in a Sep- coholic mother. He said
using flight manuals and a tember 2009 crash of a some of the burglaries he
computer flight simulator, stolen Cessna that went committed were done to
according to court docu- down near Granite Falls in steal food so he wouldn’t
ments. Snohomish County. starve.
While he was able to get During his 2012 sentencing The federal sentence was
the planes off the ground before U.S. District Judge set to run concurrently
and pilot them, some- Richard Jones, Harris- with a 7 1/2-year sentence
times in bad weather, he Moore said his dream of imposed in a state court
had a tougher time with flying was the only thing for a series of home and
the landings. Harris-Moore that saved him from the business burglaries.q

In a Wednesday, May 8, 2013, file photo, Colton Harris-Moore,
right, who is also known as the “Barefoot Bandit,” sits in a Skagit
County Superior Courtroom, in Mount Vernon, Wash., next to his
attorney, John Henry Browne, left.

Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A Hol- ing capture.
lywood studio has paid Harris-Moore was sen-
more than $1 million to set- tenced to 6 ½ years in
tle the “Barefoot Bandit’s” federal prison in 2012 for
court-ordered restitution in the theft of the airplanes,
exchange for the rights to a boat and guns during a
his story. crime spree that began
The studio, 20th Century when he escaped from a
Fox, wrote a check to the Renton juvenile halfway
U.S. Marshal’s office earlier house in 2008.
this month. It was the final A book and a documen-
payment toward Colton tary of his exploits already
Harris-Moore’s restitution, have been published.
The Seattle Times reported. The Internet made Harris-
The “Barefoot Bandit’s” life Moore a cult hero, and at
on the run is now headed one time, he had nearly
toward the big screen. 50,000 followers on his
The money mostly paid Facebook page, where
for three small airplanes he would occasionally
he stole and crash landed leave a post written on a
and a boat he hijacked in stolen laptop.
the Bahamas while evad- He eluded a massive man-