Balloon Parents Richard and Mayumi Heene have agreed to a plea bargain that will allow them to keep their whole dysfunctional Balloon Family together. Richard will plead guilty to a felony charge of “attempting to influence a public servant,” and Mayumi will cop to a misdemeanor charge of “false reporting to authorities.” Both will receive probation. But lest you take this as an actual admission of wrongdoing from Balloon Dad, think again. According to his lawyer:
“Unfortunately, the prosecutors insisted upon a package deal where Richard would have to fall on his sword and take a felony plea despite the fact that he made no incriminating statements to law enforcement and Mayumi’s statements could not be used against him.”
Okay, we’re not lawyers, so we have no idea if that last part is actually true. (Couldn’t the police just testify that Mayumi told them it was a hoax?) But even if Mayumi’s statements were inadmissible, we’re pretty sure that Falcon kid would have snitched anyway.
Lawyer: Colo. balloon boy parents to plead guilty [AP via Google]
Okay, we’re not lawyers, so we have no idea if that last part is actually true. (Couldn’t the police just testify that Mayumi told them it was a hoax?) But even if Mayumi’s statements were inadmissible, we’re pretty sure that Falcon kid would have snitched anyway.
Lawyer: Colo. balloon boy parents to plead guilty [AP via Google]
