Lawyer: US balloon boy parents to plead guilty
Richard Heene
Richard Heene will plead guilty 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.
 "Upon reviewing the evidence  arguably  Mayumi could have possibly ended up being deported and Richard could have proceeded to trial and had a good chance at an acquittal " Lane said. "This  however  would have put the family at grave risk of seeing a loving  caring  compassionate wife and mother ripped from the family and deported. That was not an acceptable risk  thus these pleas."
 Richard and Mayumi Heene's frantic calls to authorities  saying they feared their son Falcon might be aboard a homemade balloon that had escaped from their suburban Fort Collins back yard  triggered a frenzied response before the balloon landed in a dusty farm field without the boy inside. The Heenes said they found Falcon at home -- hiding  they said.
 The Heenes had twice appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap " and former business partners said Richard Heene wanted a show of his own called "The Science Detectives" or "The Psyience Detectives."
[TGT] will plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant  a felony  [TGT] attorney David Lane said. [TGT] will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities  a misdemeanor  [TGT] said.
 "Upon reviewing the evidence  arguably  Mayumi could have possibly ended up being deported and [TGT] could have proceeded to trial and had a good chance at an acquittal " Lane said. "This  however  would have put the family at grave risk of seeing a loving  caring  compassionate wife and mother ripped from the family and deported. That was not an acceptable risk  thus these pleas."
 [TGT] and Mayumi Heene's frantic calls to authorities  saying they feared their son Falcon might be aboard a homemade balloon that had escaped from their suburban Fort Collins back yard  triggered a frenzied response before the balloon landed in a dusty farm field without the boy inside. The Heenes said they found Falcon at home -- hiding  they said.
 The Heenes had twice appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap " and former business partners said Richard Heene wanted a show of his own called "The Science Detectives" or "The Psyience Detectives."