Richard Heene, the father who allegedly masterminded a stunt where he had authorities believing his 6-year-old son was stuck in a homemade balloon, has a criminal record in LA and was sentenced to jail, according to a report released today.
The celebrity Web site TMZ.com reported that Heene was arrested in April 1997 and charged with misdemeanor vandalism, vehicle tampering and disturbing the peace.
On April 15, 1997, Heene pleaded no contest to vandalism and the other charges were dismissed. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years probation and ordered to pay restitution of $100.
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It appears from the court record Heene served only 4 days and was then placed under house arrest.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Heene and his wife said this morning that he’s ready to take on the sheriff’s office who want to arrest the couple.
Lawyer David Lane told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he expects the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office to file charges against Richard and Mayumi Heene sometime this week.
He said he’s hoping authorities will abide by an agreement to allow the Heenes to turn themselves in rather than be led away in handcuffs in front of their three sons.
“If [police] step over any lines, it is my job to slap them down,” Lane said. “I have no idea what so-called evidence they have.”
Lane said he had not been told by law enforcement officials whether the Heenes had passed or failed a polygraph test administered by the sheriff’s office over the weekend.
“If that’s what they’re relying on, they’re in trouble,” he said, noting that polygraph results are not admissible in court.
Lane said he’d also like to examine the timeline of phone calls from Richard and Mayumi Heene after police claimed they called the FAA, then a local TV before dialing 911 when they told authorities they thought their son Falcon was inside the makeshift, homemade balloon.
It was Falcon, however, who tipped off authorities that the family had planned the stunt when he told Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “Larry King Live” Thursday that “we did it for the show.”
When questioned about his statements, Falcon vomited during two interviews the next morning on “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today” show.
The Associated Press reported that Robert Thomas of Denver claimed Heene had told him he was planning a media stunt to promote a proposed reality show.
Thomas, a self-described researcher, sold his story to Gawker.com and provided the Web site with e-mail exchanges between him and Heene. Thomas said the show would feature Heene as a mad scientist who carries out various scientific experiments.
“This will be the most significant UFO-related news event to take place since the Roswell Crash of 1947, and the result will be a dramatic increase in local and national awareness about The Heene Family, our Reality Series, as well as the UFO Phenomenon in general,” according to a copy of the show’s proposal provided to the site by Thomas.
Gawker.com editor-in-chief Gabriel Snyder confirmed the New York-based Web site paid Thomas, but declined to say how much for the story billed with the headline: “Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax.”
Snyder said Thomas was planning to meet with investigators, though sheriff’s officials did not return messages seeking confirmation.
With AP