Richard and Mayumi Heene plead guilty (KDVR)
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DENVER -- The parents of a 6-year-old Colorado boy once feared missing inside a runaway helium balloon have pleaded guilty to charges that could bring them jail time and probation.
Richard and Mayumi Heene entered the pleas Friday in a Larimer County courtroom.
Richard Heene, 49, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant.
He turned himself in to authorities Thursday afternoon and was released on his own recognizance.
Mayumi Heene, 48 and a Japanese citizen, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting.
The penalty range for the felony is two to six years in prison with a fine of $2,000 to $500,000.
The range for the misdemeanor is six months in jail with a fine of $50 to $750, according to the district attorney's office.
The prosecutor has recommended probation, Richard Heene's attorney said.
David Lane said the Heenes accepted the plea deal rather than risk a trial in which Mayumi, if found guilty, would face deportation to Japan.
Mayumi Heene admitted to deputies last month that she and her husband Richard "knew all along that Falcon was hiding in the residence" in Fort Collins, according to an affidavit used to get a search warrant for the home.
She allegedly told investigators the incident was a hoax meant to make them more marketable to the media.
"Mayumi described that she and Richard Heene devised this hoax approximately two weeks earlier.... She and Richard had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax," the affidavit said.
Richard Heene had denied a hoax.
In frantic calls to a TV station, 911 and federal aviation officials, the Heenes reported that they feared Falcon was in the homemade, saucer-like balloon when it was accidentally launched from their back yard on Oct. 15.
Millions watched as media and National Guard helicopters tracked the balloon across the Colorado plains. It landed in a dusty farm field, where ground crews looked inside but found no sign of the boy.
Later, the relieved-looking couple reported Falcon had been hiding in their garage the whole time. But suspicion heated up when Falcon made a comment on CNN that sounded like "You had said we did this for a show."
The Heenes twice had appeared on ABC's reality show "Wife Swap," and acquaintances said Richard Heene had plans for other possible shows.
The producer of "Wife Swap" had a show in development with the Heenes but said the deal is now off. The TLC cable network also said Heene had pitched a reality show months ago, but it passed on the offer.
Richard and Mayumi Heene entered the pleas Friday in a Larimer County courtroom.
Richard Heene, 49, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant.
He turned himself in to authorities Thursday afternoon and was released on his own recognizance.
Mayumi Heene, 48 and a Japanese citizen, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting.
The penalty range for the felony is two to six years in prison with a fine of $2,000 to $500,000.
The range for the misdemeanor is six months in jail with a fine of $50 to $750, according to the district attorney's office.
The prosecutor has recommended probation, Richard Heene's attorney said.
David Lane said the Heenes accepted the plea deal rather than risk a trial in which Mayumi, if found guilty, would face deportation to Japan.
Mayumi Heene admitted to deputies last month that she and her husband Richard "knew all along that Falcon was hiding in the residence" in Fort Collins, according to an affidavit used to get a search warrant for the home.
She allegedly told investigators the incident was a hoax meant to make them more marketable to the media.
"Mayumi described that she and Richard Heene devised this hoax approximately two weeks earlier.... She and Richard had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax," the affidavit said.
Richard Heene had denied a hoax.
In frantic calls to a TV station, 911 and federal aviation officials, the Heenes reported that they feared Falcon was in the homemade, saucer-like balloon when it was accidentally launched from their back yard on Oct. 15.
Millions watched as media and National Guard helicopters tracked the balloon across the Colorado plains. It landed in a dusty farm field, where ground crews looked inside but found no sign of the boy.
Later, the relieved-looking couple reported Falcon had been hiding in their garage the whole time. But suspicion heated up when Falcon made a comment on CNN that sounded like "You had said we did this for a show."
The Heenes twice had appeared on ABC's reality show "Wife Swap," and acquaintances said Richard Heene had plans for other possible shows.
The producer of "Wife Swap" had a show in development with the Heenes but said the deal is now off. The TLC cable network also said Heene had pitched a reality show months ago, but it passed on the offer.
