'Barefoot Bandit' pleads not guilty to Skagit Co. burglary
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MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - The notorious "Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore pleaded not guilty Thursday to a single charge of second-degree burglary that was not included in his original 2011 plea deal for a multi-state crime spree.
The not guilty plea was entered at a hearing in Skagit County Superior Court in which Harris-Moore's lawyer, John Henry Browne, also accused the county prosecutor of misconduct in his handling of a press release about the charge.
Harris-Moore, who gained international notoriety after stealing planes, cars and boats during a two-year-crime spree, earlier acknowledged dozens of crimes and was sentenced to seven years in prison as part of a plea deal resolving charges against him in three Washington counties.
But Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich refused to take part in the plea deal, and had planned to charge Harris-Moore with second-degree burglary for breaking into Anacortes Airport and first-degree theft for taking a Cirrus plane there in 2010 and flying it to Orcas Island.
Weyrich said he didn't join the original plea deal because he wanted Harris-Moore to answer for the Skagit County crimes in a local courtroom.
However, Harris-Moore had already pleaded guilty to the theft of the Anacortes plane as part of his earlier plea deal, so he did not enter a response to that charge at Thursday's hearing. He pleaded not guilty to the single burglary charge.
Harris-Moore's lawyer Browne said last week it was "juvenile" for Weyrich to pursue further charges against his client, and the realization that Harris-Moore had already pleaded guilty to one of the latest charges made it "even more silly."
"Obviously Mr. Weyrich doesn't know the background of this case," Browne said earlier. "Maybe this will make him change his mind."
But in a statement issued Wednesday, Weyrich described the inclusion of the plane theft in the original plea deal as a deliberate attempt by the San Juan County prosecutor and Harris-Moore's attorneys to circumvent his authority.
"The sole purpose of this agreement was to circumvent my position that we would not be part of this plea deal which I felt was entirely too lenient," Weyrich wrote. "At no time was this office ever consulted or contacted about the case or informed that the defendant had been charged or pled guilty to a SKAGIT COUNTY charge in a county where it did not occur."
San Juan County Prosecutor Randall Gaylord said the fact that Harris-Moore landed the plane on Orcas Island, in San Juan County, gave him jurisdiction to charge the February 2010 plane theft. He said he and the other prosecutors involved in the plea discussions wanted to wrap as many charges as possible into the deal, both to bring the case to finality and to ensure restitution for as many victims as possible.
Browne said he expects the Skagit County theft charge to be dismissed because it violates his client's Fifth Amendment right not to be prosecuted twice for the same crime - double jeopardy, in legal parlance.
"Fifteen prosecutors from around the country, two U.S. attorneys and two judges agreed the sentence in this matter was appropriate," Browne said. "The only person who disagreed was Mr. Weyrich."
In court on Thursday, Browne also said the Skagit County Prosecutor's Office violated rules of professional conduct by asserting Harris-Moore is guilty in a press release.
Browne asked for a gag order on Prosecutor Weyrich, but the judge denied it because proper procedures for filing the request were not followed. Browne now says he will take his complaints against Weyrich to the Washington State Bar Association.
Harris-Moore is next scheduled to appear in Skagit County Superior Court on March 22, and a trial was set for April 29.
The youthful thief has been a thorn for Western Washington police since boyhood. He led authorities on a two-year game of cat-and-mouse in stolen cars, boats and airplanes. His run ended in 2010 after he crash-landed a stolen plane in the Bahamas and was arrested on a stolen boat in a hail of bullets.
He earned his nickname of "Barefoot Bandit" after his bare footprints were found at some crime scenes.
The not guilty plea was entered at a hearing in Skagit County Superior Court in which Harris-Moore's lawyer, John Henry Browne, also accused the county prosecutor of misconduct in his handling of a press release about the charge.
Harris-Moore, who gained international notoriety after stealing planes, cars and boats during a two-year-crime spree, earlier acknowledged dozens of crimes and was sentenced to seven years in prison as part of a plea deal resolving charges against him in three Washington counties.
But Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich refused to take part in the plea deal, and had planned to charge Harris-Moore with second-degree burglary for breaking into Anacortes Airport and first-degree theft for taking a Cirrus plane there in 2010 and flying it to Orcas Island.
Weyrich said he didn't join the original plea deal because he wanted Harris-Moore to answer for the Skagit County crimes in a local courtroom.
However, Harris-Moore had already pleaded guilty to the theft of the Anacortes plane as part of his earlier plea deal, so he did not enter a response to that charge at Thursday's hearing. He pleaded not guilty to the single burglary charge.
Harris-Moore's lawyer Browne said last week it was "juvenile" for Weyrich to pursue further charges against his client, and the realization that Harris-Moore had already pleaded guilty to one of the latest charges made it "even more silly."
"Obviously Mr. Weyrich doesn't know the background of this case," Browne said earlier. "Maybe this will make him change his mind."
But in a statement issued Wednesday, Weyrich described the inclusion of the plane theft in the original plea deal as a deliberate attempt by the San Juan County prosecutor and Harris-Moore's attorneys to circumvent his authority.
"The sole purpose of this agreement was to circumvent my position that we would not be part of this plea deal which I felt was entirely too lenient," Weyrich wrote. "At no time was this office ever consulted or contacted about the case or informed that the defendant had been charged or pled guilty to a SKAGIT COUNTY charge in a county where it did not occur."
San Juan County Prosecutor Randall Gaylord said the fact that Harris-Moore landed the plane on Orcas Island, in San Juan County, gave him jurisdiction to charge the February 2010 plane theft. He said he and the other prosecutors involved in the plea discussions wanted to wrap as many charges as possible into the deal, both to bring the case to finality and to ensure restitution for as many victims as possible.
Browne said he expects the Skagit County theft charge to be dismissed because it violates his client's Fifth Amendment right not to be prosecuted twice for the same crime - double jeopardy, in legal parlance.
"Fifteen prosecutors from around the country, two U.S. attorneys and two judges agreed the sentence in this matter was appropriate," Browne said. "The only person who disagreed was Mr. Weyrich."
In court on Thursday, Browne also said the Skagit County Prosecutor's Office violated rules of professional conduct by asserting Harris-Moore is guilty in a press release.
Browne asked for a gag order on Prosecutor Weyrich, but the judge denied it because proper procedures for filing the request were not followed. Browne now says he will take his complaints against Weyrich to the Washington State Bar Association.
Harris-Moore is next scheduled to appear in Skagit County Superior Court on March 22, and a trial was set for April 29.
The youthful thief has been a thorn for Western Washington police since boyhood. He led authorities on a two-year game of cat-and-mouse in stolen cars, boats and airplanes. His run ended in 2010 after he crash-landed a stolen plane in the Bahamas and was arrested on a stolen boat in a hail of bullets.
He earned his nickname of "Barefoot Bandit" after his bare footprints were found at some crime scenes.
Colton Harris-Moore another drain on taxpayers as we incarcerate him every time he gets out of prison. Cheaper just to buy him a ticket to another country of his choice.
but his foot prints were at the crime scene...
Do not pass go, do not collect $100. Go straight to jail. We are tired of you and don't think you are clever or cute.
@Pollywannacracker if he thought ether, he would of turned him self in when offered? do u think?
@whenudieitsdone u need a week or two of solitude.... said before. there is no reality. simply said this kid needed to thrive rather then starve. as for everyone.
yeah ,walk him right out of his responsibility.
not guilty = another trial. Another chance to minimize an additional sentence. Seems like Browne would be trying to hatch some concurrent sentence deal for his notorious barefoot bandit client.
Let him serve his time and let him go to entertain us some more with a crime spree. I was pulling for him when he was on the run....very smart boy!
@MikeKÂ You'd feel different if he's broken into your home and stolen your property.
This guy is a criminal.
Maybe he will rip you off next time so you can see how entertaining that is.
@MikeKÂ Of course white trash sticks together.
dirty deeds done with sheep.... baaaaa :)
where's spike o'neil when we need him... ?
I read reports that he "liked" animals and there were reports from victim ranchers that some of their animals were sexually abused including a cow in montana and a sheep in eastern washington.  Maybe we will hear more details soon along with more charges. Â
@Willy Lee Or perhaps you're bored as hell and you are trying to start a ridiculously childish rumor?
@Willy Lee let's see these reports..
Innocent until proven guilty!!!Â
Yeah, good luck with that not guilty charge. Enjoy your time kid.
I wish they'd shed this "Barefoot Bandit" crap. He has a name ... use it.He's a punk that cost taxpayers way too much money. He disrupted the lives of many burgled and theft victims.I would bet those who have sympathy for him have never had their home ransacked. Browne says Weyrich's charge is junvenile and silly. Well I'll bet Weyrich doesn't think so.Lastly, I have seen his smug mug quite enough already, so Komo please quit plastering it all over the page! There!...now I can go relax and read about the looming national budget cuts.
And when they find him Guilty, I hope they give him ten times the sentence. What a loser, and what a complete an utter waste of tax money.Â
@snow surfer
and what a complete and utter waste of a person.Â
I can't believe I'm gonna say this, and I'll admit I'm the first person to roll his eyes whenever I hear the phrase "about to turn his life around", but this is one case where I actually think the guy has a chance for a future. He's intelligent. He flew several planes without ever taking a lesson. As a pilot, I know that's not an easy feat. Yes, the planes didn't survive the landings intact, but HE did, and that's saying something for the guy. And evading police for two years when your face is plastered all over the news is not easy either.
He made some really big mistakes as a teenager, and he needs to pay for every one of them (both financially and via jail time). I just hope that a few years in prison will be enough to convince him to "use his powers for good rather than evil" and that he finds an opportunity to do so.
@CentralÂ
 Flying a plane isn't rocket science, if you can read you can learn to fly. A person with an IQ of 25 could fly a plane.
@DoctorPCÂ @CentralÂ
A person with an IQ of 25 could not find an airport, could barely roll over in bed, drool, eat and crap. But they obviously could come up with the above description of pilot training.
@Central  "As a pilot, I know that's not an easy feat. Yes, the planes didn't survive the landings intact, but HE did, and that's saying something for the guy."
Please!  As a student pilot, I think anyone can fly a plane with minimal training.  Don't stick the nose up to high and you won't stall.  It's getting the plane on the ground in one piece that takes mastery to achieve a license.  If you are a pilot, I bet your passengers thank you for your competency regarding landings.  This guy failed and destroyed personal property to boot. Â
I'm not saying that he's dumb. Â Just a lack of common sense and he shouldn't get a gold star for stealing airplanes.Â
@path_tech @CentralÂ
I agree that planes are easier to fly than most people think, as you said, with minimal training. But with zero training? You can't just pluck someone off the street and expect them to figure out how to fly. And most people would probably kill themselves on landing.
BTW, nice gratuitous ad hominem. I guess when all else fails ...
@Central I too hope that once he has served his time that he will actually make something out of his life. He has tons of potential!!
@Central You know.. I'm with you. I *hope* with that talent, however misdirected, he can use it for good in the future. He got a bad shake having that woman for a mom.
Of course there will be all the hang-em-high people, but.. I just ignore them. Nothing is ever black and white.
No need to worry for barefoot he won't see all his time in the Hug-a-Thug state he'll be out sooner than later..
Let this punk spend his seven years in jail instead of shuttling him back and forth outside to breathe fresh air. Â Furthermore, get him off the stupid cameras! Â I bet he loves the fact he continues to receive attention.
The bottom line is this idiotic prosecutor attempted to commit "Double Jeopardy" and is only left with a 2nd degree burglary charge to work with? Â Wow, whatever office you plan on running for, I hope this isn't the case you are going to launch your campaign from. Â Â
Finally, a question for everyone: Does ANYONE here NOT know why he's called the "Barefoot Bandit"? Â Yeah, I thought not. Â Thanks for being redundant, KOMO.
Jesus Christ these prosecutors need to stop!!! Almost weekly we hear about little gang banger shoot outs that put tons of people in danger like the guys who had a shoot out in the central district and 1 of the bullets went thru a van window and killed an innocent man with is family. That shooter probably got less time than the Colton Harris or the tuba man killer who was out in months. By no means am I saying that he should walk away scotch free BUT he never physically hurt anyone.Â
@tkyed That little bastard needs to go to jail for a long, long time.
@Paul  yep. he's a criminal and has no moral compass.