Richard Heene Reports to Jail
The infamous “Balloon Boy” hoax is finally coming to an end. Richard Heene, the man who reported to authorities that his 6-year-old son was floating away over Colorado in a weather balloon, reported to the Larimer County Detention Center to serve out his sentence. For perpetrating the hoax, Heene was found guilty of attempting to influence https://experience.tripster.ru/experience/Ulyanovsk/sights/ a public servant. The felony charge carries with it a sentence of 90 days. He turned himself in to start his sentence on Monday, January 11.
Of Heene’s 90 day sentence, he is required to spend 30 days in jail, and following the completion of those 30 days, he is eligible for a work release program, meaning if he has a job, he will be permitted to leave the jail for work during the day, but will have to report back at night.
In addition to his 90 day sentence, he has also been put on probation for four years along with an annual allotment of 100 hours of community service.
In October, 2009, Heene reported to police that his son Falcon was floating away over Eastern Colorado in a homemade weather balloon. The balloon the boy was playing in detached from the secure lines, sending the boy adrift. The story took off on a national level, with police scrambling to get the boy safely back on the ground.
Following the balloon coming to rest in a field, police discovered that it was empty and would later find the boy hiding in the family’s attic.
The rest would become history. During the series of follow-up interviews that normally come with an event like this, the boy said “You guys said we did this for the show,” while on Larry King Live. This gave police their first solid piece of evidence to go with. In subsequent interviews, Heene would simply say their son was confused.
The Heene’s, who actually have a great deal of fame from the reality TV circuit, were then suspected of perpetrating the event to get media attention. The family had appeared on the show “Wife Swap” on more than one occasion, and may have been looking for another shot at television glory.
Police would not agree. Following investigations, Mayumi Heene would come forth and admit the entire event was a hoax and the family knew that Falcon was safe in their home. For her part in the hoax, Mayumi was sentenced to only 20 days in jail, to be completed following her husband’s stint in jail.
