Family of Balloon Boy, Falcon Heene age 6, to face criminal charges for hoax.
The Wife Swap family are accused of staging a hoax in which they convinced people that their six-year-old, Falcon Heene’s, life was in danger.
The media reacted as the media does in these cases, and asked people to pray for the child’s safe return. They were also suitably insulted when it was discovered that he was safe at home the whole time. He even unceremoniously announced as much during an interview, to his parents chagrin no doubt.
To be clear, the only reason I acknowlege this is because the Heene family wasted a lot of people’s time last week. So, I can’t even pretend that I’m not happy to hear they will be held accountable for wasting the time of the authorities and others in the media.
Sheriff Jim Alderden, of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department, revealed that his dept. is preparing to slap the annoying family with criminal charges. It’s a good thing and about time. Unfortunately, the charges won’t be that severe, likely only misdemeanors, but it’s better than nothing. Hopefully this means they won’t pull anything like this again.
He said the charges now would likely be misdemeanors, but that “hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances. Alderden also said he would consult with the DA and with the FAA about pursuing more “appropriate charges.” Alderden said deputies were working on a search warrant of the Heene’s home. The significance of a misdemeanor conviction is that authorities could go after the Heene family for the cost of emergency responders. (via TMZ)
Story, info and video via TMZ 1, 2, 3.
