USAO, Western District of Washington - Press Release

Summary

On January 27, 2012, Colton Harris-Moore, 20, of Camano Island, Washington, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington.   In June 2011, Harris-Moore pleaded guilty to bank burglary, interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft, interstate and foreign transportation of a stolen firearm, being a fugitive in possession of a firearm, piloting an aircraft without a valid airman's certificate, and interstate transportation of a stolen vessel.  Mr. Harris-Moore's lengthy crime spree began in the Pacific Northwest and across the United States to Indiana, ending with a crash landing in the Bahamas.  As a result, Mr. Harris-Moore was sentenced to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  

The investigation revealed that Mr. Harris-Moore piloted aircraft without a valid airman's certificate and illegally flew stolen aircraft approximately six times in and around Washington State.  Each time he did so, Mr. Harris-Moore risked crashing aircraft into people, property, and/or other aircraft.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones noted that Harris-Moore had endangered others with his "reckless conduct ... and a host and variety of poor choices."  The Judge told him it was time for a "new life flight plan."  Judge Jones ordered that Mr. Harris-Moore's Federal sentence be served concurrent with the 87-month sentence imposed in Island County Superior Court December 16, 2011, and also ordered that the Federal sentence be served consecutive to the juvenile sentence that Mr. Harris-Moore escaped from in 2008.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Harris-Moore forfeits any financial gain from telling his story and the proceeds are to be used to compensate the victims of his crimes.  Mr. Harris-Moore acknowledged that the amount of loss caused to victims of his crimes is at least $1.4 million.  The restitution amount Mr. Harris-Moore will be ordered to pay his victims will be determined at a restitution hearing, which is set for February 24, 2012.  This investigation was conducted jointly with the FBI and numerous other state and local law enforcement agencies from across the county.