EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff Responds To Balloon Boy Dad Calling Him "A Liar"
Jan. 8 2010, Published 5:17 a.m. ET
Only hours after Balloon Boy Richard Heene appeared live on the Today Show Friday calling Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden a “liar”, Alderden is hitting back in an exclusive statement to RadarOnline.com.
The trouble started when Heene said to Today Show host Matt Lauer, “the sheriff's department completely lied,” especially Sheriff Jim Alderden.”
Heene adamantly denied the sheriff's claim he called the local NBC affiliate's newsroom prior to dialing 911 to report the incident of the runaway balloon that he thought was carrying his 6-year-old son Falcon.
An insider at Larimer County Sheriff’s Office exclusively told RadarOnline.com on Friday that Alderden thought Heene’s remarks were ‘incredible’ and that the whole department “just wanted to move on” following the incident that gained worldwide coverage.
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The official response to Heene’s Today Show claims reads :
“Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden has stated that LCSO personnel will no longer conduct any interviews concerning the "Balloon Boy" incident at this time. Sheriff Alderden has stated that Mr. Heene has made a number of specious allegations which the Sheriff's Office has refuted including allegations that the Sheriff or his investigators lied during this investigation. Further the Sheriff has stated that he is confident in the results of our investigation and satisfied with the judgment of the court. Responding to the media inquiries has taken up an inordinate amount of our time that would be better spent dealing with more important and significant issues.”
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The statement goes onto read: “Mr. Heene must turn himself in by 9:00 AM on Monday, January 11, 2010, and will be treated the same as any other inmate at the Larimer County Detention Center. Media will only be allowed in a designated area of the main parking lot of the Detention Center, not inside the building out of respect for the privacy of those conducting business in the DC. The media will only be allowed to park their vehicles in the far west parking lot.
“Once again, the Sheriff's Office will have no further statement at this time.”
Heene told Matt Lauer: "I never said that my children confessed to anything. I didn't tell them to lie, but the one thing I want to cover, the most important thing of all is the fact that the sheriff's department completely lied.”
Heene said he only entered a guilty plea to avoid deportation of his wife, Mayumi, back to her native Japan.
"I need to clear my name," Heene said. "I need everybody to know that this was not a hoax, absolutely not."
A worldwide audience watched the bizarre incident unfold October 15, when Heene’s homemade helium balloon soared 7,000 feet over eastern Colorado; Heene begins serving a 90-day jail sentence Monday, after pleading guilty to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant.