'Balloon boy' parents to plead guilty to avoid deportation

By Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The attorney for the Colorado father who reported his son floated away in a helium balloon says his client and the boy's mother will both plead guilty to charges in the case.

The parents of "Balloon Boy" Falcon Heene will enter guilty pleas in court Friday as part of a deal to avoid deportation to Japan for Mayumi Heene.

READ: Statement from Heene parents' lawyers on deportation

In a statement released early this morning, Heene attorney David Lane said Mayumi will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanor, with a stipulated sentence to probation.

The boy's father Richard Heene will plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, a felony, with a stipulated sentence to probation, according to the statement.

In the statement, Lane said authorities insisted that Richard Heene "fall on his sword" and take a felony plea.

The Heene family drew international attention Oct. 15 when the Heenes called 911 to report Falcon had floated away from their home in a UFO-shaped helium balloon.

Millions watched as the balloon's flight was televised live, but Falcon wasn't aboard when it landed near Denver International Airport.

A few hours later, the boy emerged at the family home, besieged by reporters. Falcon said he had been hiding in the garage all along.

Sheriff's investigators said the family staged a hoax to boost their prospects in reality television.

In the statement, Lane said Mayumi Heene is a citizen of Japan, so a felony conviction would result in her deportation. Mayumi Heene confessed, according to sheriff's investigators.

However, under the law, her statements could not be used against Richard Heene, Lane said, setting up the possibility she would have been convicted and deported, while Richard Heene may have been acquitted.

"It is supremely ironic that law enforcement has expressed such grave concern of the welfare of the children, but it was ultimately the threat of taking the children's mother from the family and deporting her to Japan which fueled this deal," the statement said.

The statement, which was released at 12:49 a.m. Mountain Time Thursday, does not indicate whether the Heenes will face paying restitution for the search.

The couple is due in court at 8:30 a.m. on Friday to enter guilty pleas, according to the statement.

Lane noted in the statement that Richard Heene could be sentenced to 90 days in jail, and Mayumi, 60 days. He said once the pleas are entered, court workers will conduct a "pre-sentence" evaluation, and the sentences will be formally handed down in about a month.

Trevor Hughes reports for the (Fort Collins) Coloradoan.

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