'Barefoot Bandit' pleads guilty after two years on the run - Telegraph

Quote:

A young man known as the "Barefoot Bandit", who gained cult status as he ran from the law for two years in stolen boats, cars and planes, now faces years in prison. Colton Harris-Moore has pleaded guilty to seven felony charges, ranging from stealing an aircraft to possessing a firearm. Prosecutors have said Harris-Moore hopscotched his way across the United States and abroad, in scenes reminiscent of the Leonardo DiCaprio film Catch Me If You Can, frequently crash-landing planes in rural areas and stealing cars from parking lots at small airports. His escapades, sometimes shoeless, were widely followed in print and on the internet, and earned him the tag "Barefoot Bandit". "We're here today to say that Mr Harris-Moore's flight from justice has ended," US Attorney Jenny Durkan said after the hearing. He will "spend a significant time in prison and will not make one dime from his crimes". Under a plea agreement, Harris-Moore forfeits any future earnings from movie, book or other deals from selling his story. Earnings would be used to pay off the $1.4 million in restitution he owes to his many victims. Harris-Moore could receive up to six-and-a-half years in prison when he is sentenced in October, defence attorney John Henry Browne said. However, he still faces state charges in several counties, including the county where his crimes began. Harris-Moore, now 20, smiled and greeted his lawyers as he entered the courtroom Friday. He sat quietly, sometimes smiling, sometimes holding his hands and looking down, as federal judge Richard Jones went over the details of the crimes. The federal charges, which included stealing an aircraft, possession of firearms and piloting without a licence, stemmed from a spate of crimes in late 2009 and early 2010, when Harris-Moore was accused of flying a stolen plane from Anacortes, in northwestern Washington, to the nearby San Juan Islands. Authorities say he later stole a pistol in eastern British Columbia and took a plane from a hangar in Idaho, where investigators found bare footprints on the floor and wall. That plane crashed near Granite Falls, Washington, after it ran out of fuel, prosecutors said. He made his way to Oregon in a 32ft boat stolen in southwestern Washington, stopping first to leave $100 at an animal shelter in Raymond, Washington. From Oregon, authorities said, Harris-Moore travelled across the United States. In Indiana, he stole another plane, flew across half of the US, and crash-landed in the Bahamas, where he was captured last July. Asked what Harris-Moore plans to do after he has finished his prison sentence, defence attorney Browne said that Harris-Moore would like to go to college to study engineering.

Wish I had the balls to do this.

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Studying engineering? Shouldn't he be taking some piloting lessons as well?

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