Balloon Boy
January 7, 2010
Image by Splash News
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In an interview with Larry King, Richard told him he truly believed his son Falcon was in the homemade balloon when it floated away from the family’s home in Colorado.
He said, “My motivation is to simply clear up my name, then do my time and get back to my family. That’s all I’m after.”
Heene went on to say the only reason he pleaded guilty was to protect his wife from being deported back to her homeland of Japan.
“We had searched the house, high and low,” he said. “I knew he was in the craft. … In my mind there was no other place. I’m not disputing the fact that I did have to plead guilty and when I say have to, I had to do it to save my family and my wife. The threat of deportation was imminent…”
The pre-taped segment will air tomorrow, but you can catch a sneak peek below! Do you believe him?
December 23, 2009
Judge Stephen Schapanski just sentenced Richard 30 days in jail “straight time” and another 60 days on a work release program on Wednesday.
His lawyer, David Lane, told the judge that his client takes full responsibility and begged for leniency for his wife.
"If anyone has to go to jail here, your honor, its Richard Heene...Do not send his wife to jail. That's his plea," said Lane. "That would be something of a Christmas miracle."
Richard’s wife Mayumi received four years probation.
"In the end what this case is about is deception, exploitation...and money," said Schapanski before sentencing Richard.
The Heene's are officially the dumbest parents in the world. The judge should have given him an extra 30 days for stupidity.
December 22, 2009
The couple pleaded guilty in November, and will reportedly go before a judge on Wednesday morning to get sentenced. And at this point, no one really has any sympathy for them, since the stunt involved the National Guard.
A spokeswoman for Sheriff’s officials in Larimer County are still adding up how much the Balloon Boy incident cost, but says so far the total is $43,000.
Law enforcement agencies spent more than $21,000. It cost about $16,000 for two National Guard helicopters to track the balloon and more than $8,000 damage was done to the field where the balloon landed.
The Heenes' attorneys said prosecutors had agreed to a sentence of probation with the possibility of up to 90 days in jail for Richard Heene and up to 60 days in jail for his wife.
That seems like an awfully easy sentence for what they did! Do you think this would be enough time, or should Richard and Mayumi get more time?
October 19, 2009
"It has been determined this was a hoax. It was a publicity stunt," Larimer County, Colo., Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters Sunday. He said no arrests will be made until the investigation is complete.
The family now faces two felony charges: conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor and according to People magazine, the family lawyer insists they're going to surrender themselves to authorities.
Denver attorney David Lane, who is representing 6 year old Falcon's parents Richard and Mayumi Heene, says he wishes to avoid "the public spectacle and humiliation" of police arresting them in the presence of their children and that the couple will turn themselves into authorities when the time comes.
It's so sad the things people will do for 15 minutes of fame. Child services is now considering removing Falcon from his home and placing him in foster care! Do you think that's a good idea?
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October 18, 2009
Larimer County, Colo., Sheriff Jim Alderden confirmed that the "Balloon Boy" incident from earlier this week was a hoax.
The family is now under investigation and may be charged with two class four felonies, including conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Not only are they facing felony charges, child services is considering removing 6-year-old Falcon, that was thought to have been in the balloon, from his home.
According to People magazine, the sheriff issued a search warrant on the Heene home Saturday night and recovered computers, video equipment and financial records.
There won't be any arrests made until the investigation is complete, but needless to say, it's not looking good for the Heene family.
October 16, 2009
But the story just gets weird from that point on. Now the Larimer County Sheriff's Department is apparently conducting an investigation into the whole mess.
A Sheriff's official tells TMZ they will not interview the family today because "their physical and emotional state as of this morning is not well."
That was made pretty clear when little Falcon puked not once, but twice during the live interview with the Today Show. And his parents barely even flinched.
Speaking of the parents, we’ve also learned they have been pitching a reality show about their family to several networks. Now rumor has it the whole Balloon Boy escapade was just a hoax for publicity.
When Falcon was asked by Wolf Blitzer if he had heard his family calling his name, and if he had, why he hadn't come out of his hiding place, Falcon replied: “We did it for the show.”
The father Richard Heene angrily denied allegations that it was deliberately engineered by the family, who have previously appeared on Wife Swap. He accuses the media of making up “garbage” and misinterpreting Falcon's words.
Watch the video below of Falcon telling Wolf Blitzer he “did it for the show,” and you tell us, was it all for PR?
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