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November 12, 2009

NEW: Balloon boy parents to plead guilty

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The Colorado parents who reported their 6-year-old son floated away aboard a helium balloon will plead guilty to some charges so that the family can stay together, the attorney for the boy’s father said Thursday.

Richard Heene will plead guilty in the alleged Oct. 15 hoax to attempting to influence a public servant, a felony, his attorney David Lane said. Mayumi Heene — a Japanese citizen who could have been deported if convicted of more serious charges — will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanor, he said.

Prosecutors haven’t announced whether they’ve filed charges in the case, but a spokeswoman said the district attorney would have a statement later Thursday morning. The Larimer County sheriff’s office, which recommended criminal charges, hasn’t been notified of any charges, spokeswoman Eloise Campanella said.

Lane said he expects prosecutors to ask for jail time for both parents. Richard Heene could face up to 90 days in jail and Mayumi up to 60.

The most serious of the charges recommended by Sheriff Jim Alderden would have carried a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

The saga gripped a global audience, first with fear for the safety of 6-year-old Falcon Heene and then with anger at his parents when authorities accused them of perpetrating a hoax.

After the boy was found safe at home, sheriff’s officials contacted social workers to make sure the children were in a healthy environment.

Lane said the Heenes’ agreement with prosecutors doesn’t call for removing Falcon or the couple’s other two children — ages 8 and 10 — from the parents’ custody.

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