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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Barefoot Bandit’ returns to state

Associated Press

SEATTLE – The alleged “Barefoot Bandit” is back in Washington state, where authorities say he began a two-year multi-state crime spree.

Colton Harris-Moore arrived Wednesday afternoon from Miami on a U.S. Marshals plane and was promptly transferred to a federal detention facility in SeaTac, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

U.S. attorney’s office spokeswoman Emily Langlie said the 19-year-old is scheduled to make his initial court appearance before Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida today, when he will be advised of the charge against him and possible penalties.

Harris-Moore was arrested July 10 in the Bahamas a week after he reportedly crash-landed in a plane stolen from an Indiana airport. Authorites in the Caribbean country arrested the teenager as he tried to flee in a boat.

His arrest ended a run from the law that started when he escaped from a halfway house in Washington in April 2008. The self-taught pilot is suspected of more than 70 crimes – including stealing several boats and five planes – across nine states.

Police dubbed Harris-Moore the “Barefoot Bandit” because he allegedly committed some of his crimes without shoes.

Harris-Moore, who made an initial court appearance in Florida last week after returning to the country, faces a federal charge in the crash-landing of a plane stolen from Idaho last year.