"Barefoot Bandit" gets 6.5 years of federal time

Colton Harris-Moore (L), the Barefoot Bandit, talks with one of his lawyers at his sentencing in Island Superior Court in Coupeville, Washington in this December 16, 2011 file photograph.

Credit: Reuters/Marcus Donner/Files

By Laura L. Myers

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A serial burglar nicknamed the "Barefoot Bandit" was sentenced on Friday in Seattle to 6-1/2 years in prison for his guilty plea to federal charges stemming from a sensational, two-year crime spree as a sometimes-shoeless teenage runaway.

The federal judge also ordered that Colton Harris-Moore, 20, serve his federal sentence simultaneously with a state term of more than seven years in a move his lawyers say could see him freed before his 26th birthday.

The proceedings marked the end of an extraordinary two-year saga for Harris-Moore, a high school dropout and self-taught pilot who escaped from a juvenile detention facility and stayed one step ahead of the law as he broke into homes and stole cars, boats and planes across nine states and British Columbia.

His exploits, which prosecutors said included at least 67 crimes, came to an end when he was captured in the Bahamas in July 2010 after crash-landing a stolen aircraft he had flown to the islands from Indiana.

The 78-month federal prison term he was given on Friday was the maximum he faced for seven federal charges he pleaded guilty to in June, including interstate transportation of two stolen airplanes and a yacht, a bank burglary, possessing a firearm as a fugitive and piloting an aircraft without a valid license.

Last month in state court in Coupeville, Washington, Harris-Moore, who grew up in the Puget Sound community of Camano Island, was sentenced to 87 months for 33 crimes ranging from residential burglary to attempting to elude police.

His lawyers said that with credit Harris-Moore is expected to receive for time served and good behavior, their client, who turns 21 in March, would likely spend 4-1/2 years in prison and could be released before his 26th birthday.

In a 5-minute statement read before District Judge Richard Jones pronounced the sentence, Harris Moore apologized for his crimes, "The lessons learned on the back of my victims are no way an excuse for my crimes."

Asked by the judge what message he would wish to send to young people, Harris-Moore said, "What I did could be called daring, but I'm lucky to be alive."

MOVIE DEAL

As part of his plea deal, Harris-Moore agreed to forfeit any profits from the rights to his life story. He has signed a movie deal with 20th Century Fox, setting aside about $1.3 million in proceeds as restitution to his victims.

During his December 16 state sentencing, Island County Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill called Harris-Moore's case a tragedy but also a "triumph in the human spirit" because of his severely-troubled childhood.

Defense documents filed on Thursday argued that Harris-Moore was "at a low risk for re-offending and has the will and interest to make a life for himself as a member of the community."

A small commuter airline has communicated with Harris-Moore "about his future after incarceration," the documents said. They also cited e-mails from him expressing ambition to become a pilot.

A 39-page sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors, however, questioned whether Harris-Moore was truly remorseful.

Prosecutors referred to e-mails and calls by Harris-Moore while in federal detention in which he referred to police as "swine" and "asses," the media as "vermin," and a Washington county prosecutor as a "complete fool."

The defense responded that "quoting and parsing his e-mails is, frankly, nothing more than an inflammatory attempt to use a cognitively impaired adolescent's thoughts against him."

At his state sentencing hearing, Harris-Moore described his childhood, growing up with an alcoholic mother, as one "that I would not wish on my darkest enemies."

His mother, Pam Kohler, slipped into Friday's proceedings shortly after they began and sat in the back row of the packed courtroom, listening intently, taking her sunglasses on off and craning her neck to catch glimpses of her son.

She waved to him during a break, and Harris-Moore, who has said through his attorneys in the past that he would rather she not attend his court appearances, acknowledged her with a nod and a slight smile. She then called his name out loud, "Colt."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Darwin Roberts said Harris-Moore's behavior was not excused by his troubled upbringing.

"Having a bad childhood and dreaming of flying an airplane is not a reason to break into a bank," he said.

One of the burglary victims, Kelly Kneifl of Yankton, South Dakota, testified about how his family was terrorized when they returned home from a trip in the middle of the night to find that Harris-Moore, naked, had broken into their house.

"For the next year, literally ... Dad would have to go into the house first" and the children were to afraid to sleep in their own room.

(Editing by Steve Gorman, Daniel Trotta and Cynthia Johnston)

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9:24 AM | 0 comments

China beat up dissidents 10 years for "subversive" essays

Chinese dissident Chen XI is in this o.j. handout photo released by his family on the 26 December 2011 seen. A court in China sentenced a dissident, veteran Chen XI on Monday to 10 years in prison for subversion, his wife said, Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was arrested one of the most severe sentences for political charges since two years ago.
IMG credit: Reuters/handout
By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - a court in China sentenced a dissident, veteran Chen XI on Monday to 10 years in prison for subversion, his wife said, Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was arrested one of the most severe sentences for political charges since two years ago.

The Court in Guiyang, China, Chen tried quickly declared him for "inciting subversion of State power" and said that he deserves a hard set of ten years in prison, said his wife, Zhang Qunxuan, Reuters by phone.

"The judge was a big crime, which had a malign influence and he has been a repeated offender," said Zhang by telephone.

"The Government wants democracy and progress, you need people who speak their negative view," she said.

"To undermine you - can he?" Has he any army? He has a police force? Has he courts? With a piece of paper and a pen he can to undermine you? "Are you so fragile?"

Chen XI, 57, 36 articles denounced criticism of the ruling Communist Party, which he on overseas Chinese websites, said Zhang. The process took about two and half hours, she added.

Chen said that he would not address, because it would make no sense, said Zhang.
An official in Guiyang intermediate people's Court telephoned by Reuters declined to give any information or give contact details for the scope of the Court, the Chen, tries, also known as Chen Youcai.

"Inciting subversion" is a charge levied, frequently used, dissidents to punish, and China's Party toboggan dishes rarely found in favour of the accused in studies, in particular for political charges.
Chiefs put Communist Party if many years focusing on political challenges should increase defense for a guided tour of the party passed end next year.

"" "Severe punishment the Chinese Government is the clear choice of response to the protests spread from home and in many parts of the world: it is determined,"The monkey kill the chicken to scare"," Renee Xia, the International Director of the Chinese defenders of human rights, an advocacy group said in remarks by e-Mail.

"The chicken to scare the monkeys, killing" is a Chinese proverb hold singling out victims for rough treatment to others of.

"PAY-BACK"

The long sentence comes days after an other dissident-Chen Wei of Sichuan province, Chinas--jailed for nine years similar because of "inciting subversion." Chen is a family name in China, and the two men are not related.

Liu Xiaobo, 2010 was awarded Nobel Peace Prize, was sentenced on 25 December 2009, and imprisoned for 11 years for inciting subversion. In March of this year, fees jailed dissidents Liu Xianbin for 10 years on subversion.

This month, a Beijing sent a China's best known rights lawyers, Gao Zhisheng, back in prison, although he never appears mysterious confinement mainly escaped have provided Court.

Beijing quiet Christmas chose for these studies as it tried to avoid international attention and diplomatic censure, said Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher on China for New York-based human rights watch, an organization.

"It not the character is a confident Government which believes that it has a strong argument against a specific person," he said by telephone. "It's pay-back for decades up to the Government."

Police kept hundreds of dissidents, human rights activists and protest Organizer in a crackdown on dissent this year, when the Communist Party of anti-authoritarian revolts in the Arab world inspired to prevent wanted the protests.

Chen XI, imprisonment was released but arrested only last month after his release from a week-long by his campaign for independent candidates to places in party people's Congress assemblies, win, Zhang said.

Chen is a former soldier and factory workers that prison was for three years for his support of 1989 pro-democracy protests which ended after troops struck down, said demonstrations his wife.
Again, he was imprisoned in 1996, but since his release an organizer of human rights was a civic forum in Guiyang in 2005.

China uses a "firewall" of Internet filters and blocks to prevent that citizens read websites abroad is regarded as politically unacceptable. With the technology to break through obstacles and uncensored Web sites publish but many activist.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Hong Lei a daily briefing that he don't know about Chen XI conviction. China a "country of the rule of law" is added to Hong.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Reuters TV;) (Editing by Robert Birsel)

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South Carolina has first human rabies case in 50 years

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON (South Carolina) (Reuters) - a woman of middle age in South Carolina in more than 50 years that the State of human rabies has suffered first case, health officials said Friday.

"There are only about one to three cases of human rabies every year in this country," said Dr. Eric writer, epidemiologist with the State Department of health and environmental control Bureau of disease control.

"Tragically, rabies almost always ends in death," he said in a statement.

Burner, said that health officials believe that the woman, who was probably bitten by a bat that her home a few months ago entered.

Slowly by the body of travel until it reaches the brain and central nervous system and difficulty swallowing, seizures, anxiety, agitation and confusion, produces severe symptoms such as headaches, he said "Rabies". "Most patients die within a few weeks after onset of symptoms."

To prevent that the Department through said the patients or their State of health and environmental control spokesman Jim Beasley the release of more information about Federal medical privacy laws.

The woman lives in Sumter County, in the middle of the State, officials said.

Bites of rabies infected bats are one who most commonly used, as people are exposed, said art writer,. Raccoons, foxes, skunks, and other wild animals, and are Unvaccinated dogs and cats can transfer rabies through their saliva in a bite wound.

South Carolina law requires all dogs, cats and ferrets to be vaccinated against rabies.

The Agency said that it is examined to determine whether anyone else could have exposed the virus. By hand transfer not, documented by rabies with the exception of special circumstances in medical settings, Brenner said.

The last cases of human rabies in South Carolina were Beasley of told of Reuters in December 1959, when an elderly man Florence County was bitten by a dog, and in March 1958 as an older woman Clarendon County was bitten by a Fox.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)

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11:06 PM | 0 comments