SEATTLE _ Colton Harris-Moore, the onetime teen fugitive who gained international fame as the "Barefoot Bandit," has been transferred to a work-release facility in Seattle.
Harris-Moore, now 25, checked into the Reynolds Work Release, just a few blocks from the Pioneer Square offices of his former defense attorney, John Henry Browne, who said last month that Harris-Moore will do clerical work and answer phones at his law firm.
Browne negotiated a plea agreement that sent Harris-Moore to prison for 6 { years, but resolved dozens of federal and state charges pending against him since his escape from a juvenile halfway house in 2008.
Harris-Moore was 17 years old but managed to evade capture, committing a string of break-ins and thefts _ including several aircraft _ often taunting law enforcement and leaving a telltale sketched bare footprint at the scene as a signature.
By the time he was arrested in 2010 after a boat chase in the Bahamas, Harris-Moore was something of a folk hero, with a huge following on social media and articles of his exploits in major national publications.
Browne also helped Harris-Moore work out a movie deal that resulted in a Hollywood studio coming up with more than $1 million to pay restitution that Harris-Moore owed for wrecking cars, crash-landing three stolen airplanes and dozens of thefts and burglaries. Harris-Moore has received no money from the deal, Browne has said,
Department of Corrections spokesman Jeremy Barclay said Harris-Moore was transferred to Reynolds from the Stafford Creek Correctional Facility. While in the work-release program, Harris-Moore is still considered to be in custody and will have limited freedom to be allowed to go to work.
His formal DOC release date is in January, and Barclay said the hope is that Harris-Moore will gain the work experience and stability to succeed. He acknowledged that Harris-Moore's notoriety could make that more difficult.
"However, we believed he has a great amount of success ahead of him as long as he continues down this path," Barclay said.
