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Richard And Mayumi Heene Expected To Plead Guilty

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Nov 12, 2009 6:27 am US/Mountain

Richard And Mayumi Heene Expected To Plead Guilty

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4/AP) ― In a statement released by David Lane, the attorney of Richard Heene, he said both Richard and Mayumi Heene would enter pleas of guilty in Larimer County Court on Friday.

He said Mayumi Heene would plead guilty to false reporting to authorities, a class 3 misdemeanor (the lowest level misdemeanor in Colorado law) with a stipulated sentence of probation.

Lane added that because Mayumi Heene is a citizen of Japan, any felony conviction or certain misdemeanors could lead to her deportation. Lane said she will avoiding the possibility of deportation with the plea.

Lane said Richard Heene would also plead guilty. He was charged with attempting to influence a public servant, a class 4 felony.

The prosecutor has stipulated to a sentence of probation.

The stipulations carry the possibility of up to 90 days in jail for Richard and 60 days for Mayumi along with the probation.

After pleas are entered, the sentencing will be continued for approximately one month for the preparation of pre-sentence reports.

CBS News legal analyst, Andrew Cohen, released the following statement about the pleas on Thursday:

"It's a deal that makes sense for both sides, especially given the cost of a trial and the risk that the mother involved here would have been deported and separated from her children. So I'm not surprised at all that this ends with a whimper and not a bang.

There still could be some drama tomorrow because the judge doesn't have to accept this deal—especially the part of it that stipulates no jail time for either parent. Sometimes judges will change the terms of a deal and it wouldn't shock me if that occurred here.

There is still no word on whether the Heenes are going to pay any restitution for the costs of the search and you can be sure that topic is going to come up today when prosecutors talk about this deal and tomorrow when the judge has to approve it," Cohen said.

The Heenes are under investigation for reporting that their 6-year-old son had drifted away on a homemade balloon that broke loose from its tethers Oct. 16 in Fort Collins. The report set off a mad scramble by police, firefighters, National Guard and media helicopters as the UFO-shaped balloon flew 50 miles across northern Colorado.

The balloon eventually crashed into a field, and authorities soon discovered no one was on board. That sparked fears the boy had fallen out until he was found safe at home. He said he had been hiding because he was afraid he was in trouble.

The Heenes have publicly denied any hoax. But a search warrant affidavit said Mayumi Heene, 45, told an investigator on Oct. 17 that the balloon was released intentionally and that the couple knew Falcon was hiding.

According to an affidavit released, Heene said the stunt was intended to make the family "more marketable for future media interest" and that the three boys had been instructed to lie to authorities and the media.

Lane dismissed the alleged statement as hearsay, adding that it could only be used against Mayumi Heene, not her 48-year-old husband, unless she were to take the stand against him and submit to cross examination.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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