Harris-Moore gets 6 ½ years in federal sentence
By JEREMIAH O’HAGAN Staff Reporter
Colton Harris-Moore’s defense attorney, John Henry Browne (right), and entertainment attorney, Lance Rosen (left), speak to members of media outlets Friday after Harris-Moore’s federal sentencing in Seattle.
PHOTO BY JEREMIAH OHAGAN | STANWOOD/CAMANO NEWS Friday, Colton Harris-Moore was sentenced to 78 months in prison for seven federal crimes, as part of his multi-jurisdiction plea bargain.
He stood straighter than his last court appearance, and looked around the room rather than at the floor. He was not handcuffed, and wore khaki.
The charges were: bank burglary; two counts interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft; interstate and foreign transportation of a stolen firearm; fugitive in possession of a firearm; piloting an aircraft without a valid airman’s certificate; and interstate transportation of a stolen vessel (boat).
The plea bargain also acknowledged nearly two dozen other felonies in various jurisdictions across the country.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones handed down the six-and-a-half-year sentence, recommended by the prosecution, at Seattle’s federal courthouse. It will be followed by three years federally supervised release.
Harris-Moore’s defense attorneys, John Henry Browne and Emma Scanlan, argued for a lesser, 70-month sentence, primarily because there was some discrepancy about whether Harris-Moore’s last 18 months in prison would be credited toward his federal sentence or his existing, unfulfilled juvenile detention, which he escaped from.
Jones recommended that Harris-Moore’s last 18 months in Sea Tac’s federal detention center be credited toward his federal sentence, since he was being held solely on the federal charges that got him arrested in the Bahamas. Jones’ recommendation is in keeping with Washington state law, though Bureau of Prisons will make the ultimate decision.
Harris-Moore’s sentence will be served concurrent with the 87-month Washington state sentence handed down in December in Island County Superior Court. Harris-Moore will begin serving both sentences March 22, when he turns 21 and the juvenile court system loses jurisdiction.
Jones said he took Harris-Moore’s childhood into account while making his decision.
He called Harris-Moore’s home life “dysfunctional and neglectful,” and noted that Harris-Moore grew up “with nearly a complete lack of parental guidance.”
Nevertheless, Jones said, Harris-Moore’s criminal history dates to 12 years old, and he has appeared nine times before other judges.
“One of my fears,” Jones said, “is that (Harris-Moore) has grown indifferent to courts through repeated exposure.”
Jones also noted that most of Harris-Moore’s federal crimes were committed in pursuit of his personal goal of flying, not survival.
“The record is clear that you had an incredibly difficult childhood,” Jones told Harris-Moore, “but I want you to understand, sir, that right now, across America, kids are going to bed with hunger pains and waking up to angry parents. Can you imagine what our society would look like if every one of those people committed crimes of the extent you have?”
One of Harris-Moore’s victims also spoke in court.
Kelly Kneifel told his story of returning from vacation with his family and discovering a naked, freshly showered Harris-Moore in his Yankton, S.D., home.
Kneifel chased Harris-Moore, who vaulted over a banister and landed partway down the staircase to the basement. Kniefel followed.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Kneifel said, a voice rang out: “Stop. Get out of here. I’ve got a gun.”
“I saw a small red dot,” Kneifel recalled in court.
He got his family back in their car and drove down the street to call 9-1-1.
Harris-Moore was long gone by the time police arrived. Kneifel’s family spent the night in a hotel.
Their first night back home, Kneifel said, “all six of us stayed in (mine and my wife’s) bedroom with the door locked.”
It was some time before his young daughters ventured back into the basement.
Turns out, the red dot was a laser pointer, not a weapon, but Kneifel had no way of knowing that at the time.
“I have some level of empathy for Mr. Harris-Moore’s situation,” Kneifel said, “but it’s hard for me to reconcile that with my family’s fear.”
Harris-Moore also spoke in court Friday, for the first time ever, reading a letter he’d prepared.
Harris-Moore apologized to those who were offended, scared and angered as a result of his actions.
“I only know now how far-reaching my actions were,” he said. “Lessons learned on the back of my victims are not excusable, but they are lessons nonetheless.”
Harris-Moore also commented on the e-mails that were the source of much buzz in the days before his sentencing, noting his own “arrogance” and calling the letters “highly inappropriate.”
“I have spoken today to set the record straight. I hope you can hear the sincerity in my voice,” he said.
Jones said, “A lot of young people today see you as an icon or cult hero. I’m concerned that people look to you as someone to follow.”
He asked Harris-Moore what he would say to those people.
“I’d like to first say that what I did could be called daring, but it’s no stretch of the imagination to say I’m lucky to be alive,” Harris-Moore responded. “I should have died years ago.”
“Young people should focus on their education, as I’m going to do,” he said. “Make a difference in this world legally.”
Staff Reporter Jeremiah O’Hagan: 629-8066 ext. 125 or ohagan@scnews.com.
