Aftershocks not over for 'Balloon Boy' family

FORT COLLINS - While the pleas entered Friday by Richard and Mayumi Heene begin to conclude the criminal case against them, the Balloon Boy hoax to which they have admitted will continue to dog their steps.

The couple pleaded guilty Friday to lying to authorities in the wake of the Oct. 15 incident in which they reported their son Falcon, 6, had floated away from their Fort Collins home in a UFO-shaped helium balloon.

While the criminal case is being settled - the Heenes are due back in court Dec. 23 for formal sentencing - several other investigations remain ongoing. And they appear to still face the financial struggles that sheriff's investigators say prompted them to stage the hoax to secure a reality television deal.

TV production company RDF Media, which had shown an interest in development with the Heenes, said in a written statement in October, after their arrest, that "we are no longer in active development with the family." RDF officials could not be reached for comment on Friday following the Heenes' guilty pleas.

The Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into the Heenes after the balloon's flight near Denver International Airport temporarily forced aircraft to use different runways. FAA officials have declined to discuss the specifics of the investigation.

"It's still going on," said FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer. "These things take weeks, months, a long time."

Initially, the Heenes also were under investigation by the Larimer County Department of Human Services' Child Protection Service. Even the existence of those investigations is normally kept entirely secret, but Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden disclosed that he had asked the county to review the family. The investigation will not be discussed even when complete, officials said.

"We cannot comment on that case at all," said Denise Suniga, deputy division manager for the Children, Youth and Family Division of the Larimer County Department of Human Services.

On Friday before court, the couple drove their three children to nearby Werner Elementary School.

While sentencing is pending, the couple are free to leave the state. Judge Stephen Schapanski on Friday granted a request for Richard Heene to travel after his lawyer said he needs to go to New York and California, in part to seek employment.

Richard Heene's attorney, David Lane, declined to discuss the specific job possibilities his client has on the horizon.

The Heenes' landlord said their criminal conviction will not affect their status as tenants. According to news reports, the Heenes left California because they owed people money.

"Just because they've been charged with criminal charges doesn't mean I'm going to toss them out," said Mike Bechtold, who lives in Albuquerque, N.M. "Lack of rent payment is ultimately what will result in eviction."

He added that he is friends with Richard Heene and the family has been good about making rent payments since they moved into the southeast Fort Collins home.

Still unanswered is how much the couple will have to pay, if any at all, in restitution. Larimer sheriff's officials say early search estimates were about $20,000. Schapanski will decide on the amount of restitution at a later date, perhaps the Dec. 23 sentencing hearing. They will both receive probation sentences and could also receive jail time.

Before that hearing, the two will also undergo a pre-sentence investigation, or PSI, which is typically conducted by a probation officer who will interview the defendants, victims, family members and others involved with a case and make recommendations for sentencing. The officer also includes in his or her report the defendant's background information, including past convictions and medical history, as well as an evaluation of the defendant's probable adjustment into the community.

At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors are expected to lay out why they offered to let Mayumi Heene plead to a lesser charge. On Friday, prosecutor Andy Lewis told Schapanski that Mayumi Heene was charged with a misdemeanor because her role in the hoax was less than that of her husband.

"Her level of culpability we believe is lower, and this is appropriate," Lewis said Friday in court.

The charge to which Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty - a misdemeanor - means she's less likely to face deportation than if she had been convicted of a felony at trial, her attorney, Lee Christian, said.

Kim Baker Medina, a Fort Collins immigration attorney with no connection to the Heene case, said the implications of criminal charges on deportation are complex. She said the type of charges filed, what happened in the incident, how long a person has been in the country legally and other factors help federal courts make determinations.

She also said it's not necessarily true to say a felony conviction is more likely to lead to deportation than a misdemeanor deportation or visa versa.

"There are certain felonies that don't have implications and some misdemeanors that do have implications," she said. "But there are also several defenses to removal for certain people."

This story written by Trevor Hughes, Fort Collins Coloradoan.