Is Colton Harris Moore A.K.A. the Barefoot Bandit Merely A Criminal With A Bad Taste Of Fashion?

Reader: "Quit glorifying criminals. Stop writing about them. Otherwise, the mess you are creating will result in anarchy."

Legal Pub: Sorry, it is what we do. Why is it that the world is so obsessed with a 19 year old criminal anyway? Tons of juvenile centers, courtrooms and jails are littered with their shackled legs which don only jail house slippers. So why is Colton Harris-Moore any different than any other criminal with poor taste in footwear? Barefoot Bandit.Moore. Is it because this juvenile delinquent is claimed by America as one of its own modern day Jesse James? Colton has already pleaded guilty to a minor minor offense in the Bahamas. (Illegally entering the country.) Now he has been deported to the U.S. for probable prosecution relating to several break-ins and plane thefts across the our great nation.

The Bahamas arrest ended what is believed to be a two-year crime spree. Colton was arrested after a high speed boat chase reminiscent of a James Bond film. Yet actual charges arising out of Colton crashing an apparently stolen air plane on Great Abaco Island only subjected him to a $300 fine or three months in jail. Monique Gomez represented Harris Moore and the U.S. Embassy apparently paid the fine. Then the U.S. Marshall's office gave him a free trip back to the states.

In court, Harris-Moore's sense of fashion was apparent as he donned white sneakers without any laces. As spectators gathered outside of the court room, Harris Moore's status officially grew to that of "celebrity suspect." The "Barefoot Bandit" had become notorious by allegedly committing numerous crimes while shoeless. But as his reputation grew, so apparently did his ego. In February, the young man allegedly drew chalk-outlined feet on the floor of a grocery store during a burglary in San Juan Islands. A signature to a crime or just a charitable gift to the prosecution to spare the expense of DNA testing?

Harris-Moore appears to be no choir boy. He may be a suspect in as many as 70 property crimes across eight states and British Columbia. He is even accused of stealing a plane from an Indiana airport and flying it all the way to the Bahamas. He developed a reputation of dodging police with an efficiency not seen since the" artful dodger" of English folk lore. The teens mother may soon be represented by O. Yale Lewis, a Seattle lawyer. Lewis could potentially help her profit from her son's misadventure. But at this point, one can only speculate about possible book and movie deals.

So let's use our imagination, does the story begin with the protagonist walking away from a halfway house south of Seattle or does it go begin even further when as a young child he was allegedly wrongly accused of stealing by authorities? Does Colton's difficult upbringing capture the sympathy of the audience? Are unsympathetic school officials made out to be the real culprits for not taking the time to understand Harris-Moore's plight?

Or is this poor lad a victim of child abuse or neglect? Or is his father to blame for leaving the household when Harris-Moore was just a toddler? Or could it be that modern medicine is the real culprit because it failed to save his stepfather who died when Colton was only seven? No matter how cute he may be, no matter how much sympathy and celebrity status he is able to generate, its doubtful that the "barefoot bandit" will avoid conviction on all of the potential charges arising out of alleged crimes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. So enjoy your moment of fame, you will likely find it very fleeting if you have to spend much time in jail.