Richard Heene, the father in the infamous “Balloon Boy” incident, will plead guilty to a felony charge tomorrow, according to his attorney.
Heene will plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, and Larimer County prosecutors have “stipulated to a sentence of probation,” attorney David Lane said in a media release.
Heene and his wife, Mayumi, are scheduled to appear in District Court in Larimer County at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
Mayumi will plead guilty of false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanor, Lane said.
The plea agreement does “carry the possibility of up to 90 days in jail for Richard and 60 days for Mayumi,” Lane said.
The District Attorney’s Office said in a statement this morning that Richard Heene has been charged with “one count of attempting to influence a public servant, a class 4 felony.” Mayumi Heene was charged with “one count of false reporting to authorities, a class 3 misdemeanor.”
The penalty for a class 4 felony is two to six years in prison, and fines from $2,000 to $500,000, the office said. A class 3 misdemeanor levies jail time of six months and fines from $50 to $750.
They will appear in court tomorrow at 8:30 a.m., the prosecutor said.
Later this afternoon, Richard Heene turned himself in at the jail and was released on a $5,000 bond, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The Heenes are under investigation for reporting that their 6-year-old son had drifted away on a homemade balloon that broke loose from tethers on Oct. 16 in their Fort Collins backyard.
Northern Colorado police and sheriff’s deputies tracked and chased the balloon in an attempt to rescue the boy.
The child was later found, safe and sound, at the home. He had been in the attic during the time the balloon flew about 50 miles before landing in a field north of Denver International Airport.
In the release, Lane said Mayumi, with the plea, is avoiding deportation to her native country, Japan.
“Because Mayumi, while being questioned by law enforcement, made certain statements which the prosecutor could use against her to possibly obtain a felony conviction and thus, her deportation by the federal government, she is avoiding that possibility with this plea,” Lane said.
Richard Heene, however, “would have to fall on his sword and take a felony plea despite the fact that he made no incriminating statements to law enforcement,” the release said.
The couple, who previously appeared on the reality television series “Wife Swap,” are being represented by separate attorneys, Mayumi’s attorney is Lee Christian.
The Larimer County District Attorney’s Office did not return a phone call seeking comment on the release.
The office of Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden declined comment.
Alderden “is on a well deserved vacation,” his office said in a media release.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
