A resourceful teenage fugitive who police have called the "Barefoot Bandit" was being questioned inside a Bahamian jail Monday as he spent his first full day behind bars after an audacious two-year run that gave him near folk hero status.
Colton Harris-Moore was being held inside the two-story Central Detective Unit with access to phone calls and visitors from the U.S. Embassy as well as interrogators. Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said he was being interviewed by investigators but declined to say whether the 19-year-old had made any kind of statement to authorities or what they needed to build any case against him.
Greenslade was complimentary of Harris-Moore despite the weeklong manhunt that ended with police shooting out the outboard engine on a motorboat off Eleuthera island.
"He's very eloquent, obviously a very intelligent young man," Greenslade said.
Harris-Moore was expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday on suspicion of illegal weapons possession as well as a "litany" of other charges stemming from the week he spent in the Bahamas trying to evade police.
Police captured American teenager before dawn Sunday following a high-speed boat chase in off Eleuthera, one of two sparsely populated tourist islands where he allegedly committed a string of burglaries since crash-landing a plane in the Bahamas a week earlier.
It was only the latest caper for the teen from rural Camano Island, Washington, who is suspected of stealing cars, boats and at least five airplanes during a run from the law that began with his 2008 escape from a halfway house.
Greenslade said earlier that charges filed in the Bahamas will take priority over those in the U.S., but also noted the two countries have excellent relations and an extradition could happen more quickly than people might expect. He declined to comment further on how the case will be handled.
Greenslade also provided more details of the capture off Harbour Island, a small tourist destination that is part of northern Eleuthera.
He said Harris-Moore had a weapon as he tried to escape on a stolen speedboat one last time, but he did not fire at police officers. Islanders reported seeing the fugitive in the area and some civilians even participated in the chase that ended with police shooting out the engine on the fugitive's boat.
From the moment of his capture, Greenslade said Harris-Moore has been calm and cooperative.
"He gave us no trouble at all at the moment he was arrested," Greenslade said.
John Henry Browne, a lawyer asked by Harris-Moore's mother to represent her son, said the theft and burglary charges in the Bahamas are relatively minor but that alleged possession of a gun at the time of his capture could complicate the case.
Speaking to TODAY’s Matt Lauer Monday via satellite from Seattle, Browne said that the best scenario for his client would be if Bahamian authorities agree to allow all charges against Harris-Moore to be consolidated and tried in the United States.
So far, Browne said, the Bahamas is claiming jurisdiction over Harris-Moore, who is suspected of having committed a number of burglaries in the islands, and also could be charged with illegal possession of the airplane he allegedly flew there.
“I think if they want to hang onto him for a while, they probably could. But it would make a lot more sense to me for Colton’s best interests, and also for the government, I think, to try to consolidate all of these things and have him extradited to Seattle, where he’s charged in federal court in Seattle. When you’re in federal court, it’s a lot easier to consolidate things,” Browne said.
Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle, said that her office would seek to extradite Harris-Moore to Washington state and coordinate with local jurisdictions about how his case would proceed.
"There are obviously many jurisdictions that would like to prosecute him," she said.
His mother, Pamela Kohler of Camano Island, Washington, issued a statement expressing relief that the manhunt for her son had ended.
"I am very relieved that Colt is now safe and that no one was hurt during his capture," Kohler said. "I have not yet been able to speak to him. It has been over two-and-a-half years since I have seen him, and I miss him terribly."
Police dubbed Harris-Moore the "Barefoot Bandit" because he allegedly committed some of his crimes without shoes. His run converted him into a sort of folk hero, with some of the nearly 80,000 followers on his Facebook posting disappointed messages Monday.
Even some in the Bahamas had mixed feelings about his arrest.
"I feel like it would have been good if he got away because he never hurt anybody, but then he was running from the law," said Ruthie Key, who owns a market on Great Abaco Island and let Harris-Moore use her wireless Internet connection July 5.
"He seemed very innocent when I spoke with him at the store. I don't think he'd hurt anybody," Key said.
Island police had been searching for the teen since he allegedly crash-landed the plane on Abaco, where he was blamed for at least seven burglaries. The search expanded to Eleuthera after police there recovered a 44-foot powerboat reported stolen from Abaco.
Victims of the crimes Harris-Moore is accused of were happy to see him in custody.
"These people that support him, they've never been violated by having him break into their homes or businesses," said Joni Fowler, manager of a cafe on Orcas Island north of Seattle where Harris-Moore is accused of taking as much as $1,500. "Just knowing he has a huge network of supporters makes me really worry about the state of this country."
Fowler said she hopes Harris-Moore's arrest and upcoming court appearances will deflate his mystique and fame — "once everybody figures out he's no god."
Shauna Snyder, a private investigator on Whidbey Island near Camano, said she set up a legal defense fund for Harris-Moore at the request of his mother. She said that although she didn't know how much had been raised so far, the fund has been getting donations.