Balloon Boy is a nickname that became famous in October, as the nickname given to Falcon Heene who was reported to have flown away in a homemade balloon as part of a hoax executed by his parents last month. Today, the parent's lawyer reported the parents will plead guilty to various charges.
Although the guilty pleas will not be given until Friday, the announcement was made via the Heene's lawyer, David Lane.
According to their lawyers, the mother, Mayumi Heene will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities, which is a class 3 misdemeanor, with a stipulated (by the prosecutor). sentence of probation. Meanwhile, the husband, Richard Heene will plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, a class 4 felony, again with a stipulated sentence of probation.
These charges are among the least of the ones that could have been brought forth against the Heenes. In fact, the most serious of the charges recommended by Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden Could have carried a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
Last month, Mayumi Heene confirmed that the event was all a hoax. It was designed to raise awareness about the Heene family, which was trying to get itself into a reality series.
Initially, reports were that Falcon, 6, had lifted off in the family's homemade UFO-shaped balloon. While media covered the story, and authorities followed the craft, Falcon was eventually found at home, hiding in the garage.
While this would not be atypical behavior for a child scared because people were running around searching for him, suspicions were raised when Falcon blurted out his reason for hiding. He indicated, on air, to his father, that "you said it was for the show."
Despite all this, the DA has taken these pleas. David Lane, the parent's attorney said that while Mayumi Heene, a Japanese citizen, could possibly have been deported, her statements probably could not have been used against her husband, Richard, due to marital privilege. They did not want to risk the mother's deportation, and Lane said:
"Upon reviewing the evidence, arguably, Mayumi could have possibly ended up being deported and Richard could have proceeded to trial and had a good chance at an acquittal. This, however, would have put the family at grave risk of seeing a loving, caring, compassionate wife and mother ripped from the family and deported. That was not an acceptable risk, thus these pleas."
It is unclear, as there have been issues raised about possible risk to the children, if these pleas will affect the parent's custody. It is also still unclear if authorities will pursue restitution in the matter; the expense of tracking the saucer was considerable, and Denver airport was even closed for a time.
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