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Sirens & Gavels

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Bandit’s lawyer: ‘He was scared to death’

John Henry Browne, attorney for Colton Harris-Moore, speaks with reporters Thursday, July 22, 2010, at the U.S. Courthouse in Seattle. Harris-Moore, the 19-year-old accused in a two-year string of thefts from Washington state to the Caribbean, did not seek bail in his first court appearance Thursday in Washington state and will remain jailed. Federal prosecutors said Harris-Moore poses
John Henry Browne, attorney for Colton Harris-Moore, speaks with reporters Thursday, July 22, 2010, at the U.S. Courthouse in Seattle. Harris-Moore, the 19-year-old accused in a two-year string of thefts from Washington state to the Caribbean, did not seek bail in his first court appearance Thursday in Washington state and will remain jailed. Federal prosecutors said Harris-Moore poses "an extreme risk of flight" and should remain jailed until his trial. (Elaine Thompson / (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson))

After Colton Harris-Moore's brief appearance in U.S. District Court in Seattle Thursday, his prominent Seattle defense lawyer had a message for the teen's apparent admirers. 

"For any of the kids out there that think this is fun, it is not," John Henry Browne told news reporters, according to a video from the Seattle Times. "He was scared to death most of the time...and he's concerned that kids will think this was fun."

Browne described Harris-Moore as "very smart but not terribly mature."

"He seems like a kid... the whole media thing creeps him out...He doesn't know what's going on...He's confused about it."

Browne's associate, Emma Scanlan, said Harris-Moore is "very relieved, actually, to be done with being lonely and being on the road by himself. I think things got out of control for him."

Harris-Moore did not contest his detention Thursday and waived his right to a preliminary hearing. His next court appearance will likely come after a grand jury indictment.

The 19-year-old, captured after a boat chase in the Bahamas July 11, is accused of stealing a Cessna 182 from the Boundary County Airport last fall and crash landing it near Granite, Falls, Wash.

Past coverage: Oct. 7: Teen bandit becoming national sensation

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