Camano Island Man Indicted for Multi-State Crime Spree

Colton Harris-Moore Faces Five Count Federal Indictment

COLTON HARRIS-MOORE, 19, of Camano Island, Washington, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Washington in connection with his lengthy crime spree in the Pacific Northwest. HARRIS-MOORE is charged with 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. HARRIS-MOORE remains in custody at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, Washington. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on November 18, 2010.

“The grand jury action today is an important step in holding Colton Harris-Moore accountable for his criminal conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. The indictment follows the criminal complaint which was the basis for HARRIS-MOORE’s arrest in the Bahamas in July 2010.

The first charged criminal act in the indictment is the September 29, 2009 theft and transportation of a stolen Cessna aircraft from Bonners Ferry, Idaho, to near Granite Falls, Washington. The interstate and foreign transportation of a stolen firearm count pertains to a .32 caliber pistol. HARRIS-MOORE stole the pistol in Canada and carried it with him into Idaho and on the stolen plane he flew to the Granite Falls area. HARRIS-MOORE is also charged with possessing another firearm while he was a fugitive between October 1, 2009 and May 6, 2010. That weapon was a Jennings .22 caliber pistol. HARRIS-MOORE is charged with piloting an aircraft without an airman’s certificate for a flight he made in a stolen plane from Anacortes to Eastsound, Washington on February 10, 2010. Finally, he is charged with the interstate transportation of a 34-foot boat he stole from Ilwaco, Washington and sailed to Oregon on May 31, 2010.

Four of the counts in the indictment are punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Piloting an aircraft without an airman’s certificate is punishable by up to three years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI is the lead federal agency investigating the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Darwin Roberts.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@USDOJ.Gov.