Balloon dad continues to speak out, maintains innocence

Richard Heene accused Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden of lying and manipulating evidence.

Specifically, he says his wife Mayumi Heene, who he says speaks poor English, never intended to call the incident a hoax to investigators.

“She was asked a question - a yes-or-no format - and the officer asked her, ‘Was this a hoax?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ Well, when we got home, she was bulking up in tears and she has the English-Japanese dictionary in front of her and she said, ‘I thought hoax meant exhibition.’ She gave me a hug, it was an awkward thing for her and she feels really guilty for stating the wrong set of words she wanted to use,” Heene said.

Alderden told NBC’s The Today Show Mayumi Heene’s comments were detailed.

“She took a polygraph, she failed it, she was confronted with the fact that she failed it and she immediately cooperated and gave up all of the facts,” Alderden said.

In November, Heene pleaded guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, which is a Class 3 felony. Last month, a judge sentenced Heene to 90 days in jail, 30 of which would be straight jail time. That sentence begins Monday.

During that sentencing hearing, Heene apologized to the rescue crews and community members who searched for his 6-year-old son Falcon for the Oct. 15 incident. The Heene family had told authorities their son was in a helium balloon. The sheriff’s office said later that it was all a hoax to get media attention.

Friday, Heene said his apology in court was not an admission.

“I’m not going to apologize for a hoax,” he said. “But I’m honest to God sorry that people got involved.”

9 News

Patrick Disney Miller pleads ‘Not Guilty’ on Gun Charges

A 42-year-old grandson of Walt Disney pleaded not guilty to charges of illegal possession of guns and drugs on Wednesday in a California court and was remanded in custody, authorities said.

Patrick Disney Miller, who already has a 2005 conviction for drug possession, was detained on December 9 after police conducted a search of his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, local prosecutors said.

Miller had been freed on a 35,000 dollar bail, but at Thursday’s arraignment the judge raised the amount to 550,000 dollars and Miller was taken into custody. A new hearing was set for February 4.

Miller was originally charged with a single felony count, but prosecutors Wednesday filed 19 additional felony charges against him.

Police allegedly recovered an arms cache comprising 13 handguns, a rifle and an illegal assault rifle during the search. Various drugs were also found.

As a result of his 2005 conviction, Miller is barred from owning guns or ammunition, according to prosecutors.

Los Angeles Police Department officers obtained the search warrant after running a background check on Miller when they discovered he had allegedly purchased ammunition.

If convicted of all charges, Miller faces more than eight years in state prison. Miller is the youngest child of Diane Disney Miller, who is Walt Disney’s only biological daughter.

Associated Press

Ex-Police Cheif gets 32 months

Calling him arrogant, reckless and without remorse, a judge on Wednesday sentenced a former police chief to 32 months in prison for breaking in to the home of a surrogate mother who was carrying twins for the actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.

“Your attorney began this trial by saying what you did may have been stupid but it wasn’t criminal,” the judge, John M. Solovan of Belmont County Court, told the former chief, Barry P. Carpenter. “I disagree. It was stupid, and it was criminal.”

A jury last month found Mr. Carpenter guilty of receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence and theft in office, though it acquitted him of the three most serious charges of burglary.

He was the police chief of Martins Ferry, Ohio, and prosecutors accused him and two other men, including another police chief, of conspiring to steal items from the surrogate’s home and sell them to tabloid newspapers.

Judge Solovan told Mr. Carpenter, 40, that he gave him the most time — two years — on the felony charge of tampering with evidence because “this offense is more significant than the theft in office because the cover-up is always more significant.”

Robert Halderman compares himself to Tiger Woods’ Mistresses

The alleged extortionist in the David Letterman case is now comparing himself to all the mistresses in the Tiger Woods case. He’s basically saying, that he had information on the extra marital affairs of David Letterman and wanted to be paid to keep that information quiet.

His examples are:

“No criminal charges have been filed against [Rachel] Uchitel,” who reportedly got $5 million from Woods to keep her mouth shut about their longtime relationship and keep private the text messages and voicemails she saved, lawyer Gerald Shargel’s filing says.

“No charges have been filed against Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who represented Uchitel during negotiations,” and who “may have even hastened negotiations by scheduling, and then canceling, a press conference at which she ‘planned to make a statement about Rachel Uchitel’s relationship with Woods,’ ” the filing says.

“No charges have been filed against Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren,” who was reportedly paid $5 million to sign a non-disclosure deal, the filing says.

Bristol Palin Custody Case Will Be Open Court

The custody dispute between Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, over their 1-year-old son, Tripp, is playing out in court, and despite Bristol Palin’s efforts to keep the case confidential, a judge last week opened it to the public.

Palin filed a petition for full legal and physical custody Nov. 4. She argued that she and her family already provided almost all of the care and asserted that “Levi is not yet mature enough to take on significant parental responsibilities.”

But Johnston says he wants to share custody of his son and do what he can for Tripp, and Bristol Palin.

Johnston fought to allow the custody matter to unfold in public, saying in a sworn statement that doing so would help put everyone on their best behavior.

Chicago Tribune

Rapper Ti Released Early

Rapper T.I. got an early Christmas present Tuesday after authorities released him from a federal prison in Arkansas nearly seven months into a 366-day term.

His attorney, Steve Sadow, told the website xxlmag.com that T.I. would report to a halfway house in the Atlanta area later in the day to begin a stay of two or three months.

T.I., 28, was arrested after trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers from undercover federal agents in 2007. That came after the rapper’s best friend was killed following a party in Cincinnati in 2006. The rapper has said the bullets that killed his friend were meant for him.

The self-proclaimed “King of the South” (real name: Clifford J. Harris Jr.) had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge in his three-count indictment. However, he reached a plea deal with prosecutors after spending time on house arrest before his sentencing and speaking before community groups and high schools about the dangers of drugs, violence and guns. He was originally scheduled to be released on March 10, 2010.

ABC NEWS

Polanski Case May Be Coming To An End

Roman Polanski is under house arrest in Switzerland (poor guy), and filed to have his 32 year old case dismissed. The judges ruled yesterday that the case could not be dismissed, BUT he could file for have his sentence to be in absentia. Basically, he wouldn’t have to return to the US and the judge assigned the case would have to open an investigation into the allegations Polanski has mentioned. Though, Polanski pleaded guilty, he has made allegations that there was prosecutorial and judicial misconduct in the original handling of the case.

Brooke Astor’s Son Sentenced

Anthony Marshall, 85, gets 1 to 3 years for plundering millions from his New York socialite mother, who suffered from dementia before her death.

LA TIMES

Elin Nordegren Want Half Of Everything

Elin Nordegren, Tiger’s soon to be Ex-wife has said she want half of the Tiger Woods empire. She also wants 100% divorce and custody of the kids, citing that his abundant affairs have proven him to be an unfit father.

He’s currently valued at around $600 million.

“Tiger was supposed to be working on getting better, and he hasn’t done anything,” said Nordegren’s pal. “Elin is livid that he hasn’t checked into rehab and gotten himself off his drugs. He’s acting like a big baby.”

Courtney Love Ordered to Stay Away From Daughter

Courtney Love has been ordered to stay away from her 17-year-old daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, Radaronline.com reports. A temporary restraining order has been granted prohibiting Love from having any contact with her daughter, either directly or indirectly. Last Friday temporary guardianship of Frances Bean was granted to her grandmother, Wendy O’Connor, and her aunt, Kimberly Dawn Cobain, who Frances lives with. A court date is set for Jan. 5 to make the restraining order permanent. The restraining order may have something to do with Love’s ill-advised decision to face off with her daughter on Facebook . “I hate to sound cold but any kid of mine who pulls this (bleep) has lost her position,” Love wrote. “She was deceptive, she lied and she’s lying to herself . . . My daughter is not always honest.”

Boston Herald

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