Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Nov 14, 2009 by P. Solomon Banda Associated Press
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The Colorado parents accused of pulling a spectacular hoax by reporting their son was aboard a runaway balloon pleaded guilty Friday to charges that could bring some jail time and probation.
Richard Heene pleaded guilty to knowingly and falsely influencing Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, a felony, in the episode that sent law enforcement scrambling to rescue 6-year-old Falcon until he was found safe at the family home. Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty to knowingly filing a false report with emergency services, a misdemeanor.
Richard Heene told judge Stephen Schapanski he understood that he could have to pay restitution for the costs incurred by public agencies because of his actions. Local and federal authorities spent at least $62,000 pursuing the balloon and searching for 6-year-old Falcon after it landed.
Schapanski told Mayumi Heene that her plea doesn’t automatically prevent any action by federal authorities regarding her immigration status; she is a Japanese citizen. Her attorney, Lee Christian, acknowledged that was the case but said avoiding a trial could reduce the consequences.
Chief deputy district attorney Andrew Lewis told the judge that prosecutors always intended to charge Mayumi Heene with a misdemeanor based on her cooperation with authorities and what he called her lower level of culpability in the incident
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