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‘Affluenza’ teenager Ethan Couch arrives in Texas Deported ‘affluenza’ teen booked into Texas detention center
(about 3 hours later)
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Texas teenager who used an “affluenza” defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck arrived at a Texas airport following his deportation from Mexico on Thursday, more than a month after he and his mother fled the U.S. as prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation. FORT WORTH, Texas — The teenager who used an “affluenza” defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck was booked into a juvenile detention center in Texas following his deportation from Mexico on Thursday, more than a month after he and his mother fled the U.S. as prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation.
Ethan Couch, 18, arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport late Thursday morning and could be seen walking through the airport escorted by law enforcement. Couch was apprehended with his mother in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta on Dec. 28, after a call for delivery pizza tipped off authorities to their whereabouts. Ethan Couch, 18, arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport late Thursday morning and could be seen walking through the airport escorted by law enforcement. Couch and his mother were apprehended in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta on Dec. 28, after a call for pizza delivery tipped off authorities to their whereabouts.
Authorities believe Couch and his mother fled Texas in her pickup truck after an online video appeared to show Ethan Couch at a party where people were drinking. Couch had been sentenced to 10 years’ probation in juvenile court for the 2013 drunken-driving wreck that killed four people and severely injured two others, and the terms prohibit him from drinking or leaving Tarrant County, Texas. “We’ve reached a great milestone,” Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said outside the juvenile facility in Fort Worth. “This is a day we’ve looked forward to, when we have them both here and back under the jurisdiction here. We’re hoping that the day comes for justice for the families and the four victims that were killed.”
During the trial in that case, a defense witness argued that Couch had been coddled into a sense of irresponsibility by his wealthy parents, a condition the expert called “affluenza.” The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its use drew widespread derision. Couch is scheduled for a court hearing Friday when a judge could decide to move him to an adult jail, which Anderson said he would support given the severity of Couch’s offenses. Couch also faces a hearing Feb. 19 to determine whether his case will be transferred to the adult system, where he could face 120 days in jail.
Couch initially fought deportation, but his attorneys recently dropped the fight. Uniformed Mexican immigration agents put Couch on a commercial flight from Mexico City to Texas on Thursday morning. “He’s certainly capable of understanding now what’s going on, and I’d feel better if he was there,” Anderson said.
Couch’s mother, Tonya Couch, was quickly deported after she and her son were found in Mexico. She is charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon. She was released on bond in early January, after being fitted with an electronic ankle GPS monitor, to the home of another son. Couch was sentenced to 10 years’ probation in juvenile court for the 2013 drunken-driving wreck that killed four people and injured several others. The terms prohibit him from drinking or leaving Tarrant County, Texas.
According to an arrest warrant, Tonya Couch is accused of telling her estranged husband, Fred Couch, that he would never see her or their son again before fleeing. Authorities believe Couch and his mother fled Texas in her pickup truck in early December, after an online video appeared to show Couch at a party where people were drinking. Investigators said Couch appeared to have tried to disguise himself by dying his blond hair black when he and his mother were found in Mexico.
A detention warrant was issued for Ethan Couch in December after he missed a meeting with his probation officer. Investigators said he appeared to have tried to disguise himself by dying his blond hair black and his beard brown when he and his mother were found in Mexico. During the trial in the juvenile case, a defense witness argued that the then-16-year-old Couch had been coddled into a sense of irresponsibility by his wealthy parents. The expert deemed the condition “affluenza,” which isn’t recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association and drew widespread derision.
Video released Thursday by the Mexican immigration institute showed Couch wearing a bluish camouflage-print hoodie, being escorted out of the detention center before dawn, and being escorted onto the plane by four agents. He had been in immigration custody for 28 days. Couch’s mother, Tonya Couch, was quickly deported last month and charged in Texas with hindering the apprehension of a felon. She was released on bond after being fitted with an electronic ankle GPS monitor. According to an arrest warrant, she told her estranged husband, Fred Couch, that he would never see her or their son again before fleeing.
Couch is seen with a full, light-brown beard on the institute’s video, showing little emotion as he is placed aboard a pickup truck and driven out of the gated detention center. Ethan Couch initially fought deportation, but he dropped the fight earlier this week.
Couch’s Mexican lawyer, Fernando Benitez, said Tuesday that Ethan Couch had formally ratified his decision to drop the appeal on Monday. Mexican immigration agents put him on a Texas-bound commercial flight in Mexico City early Thursday. Video released Thursday by Mexican immigration officials showed Couch wearing a bluish camouflage-print hoodie as he was escorted out of the detention center and onto the plane by four agents.
“I gave him several options, but he decided to go to Texas to face whatever charges he faces,” Benitez said. Couch’s attorney in Texas didn’t return messages seeking comment Thursday afternoon.
Ethan Couch will be held in a juvenile detention center in Fort Worth, where a juvenile judge will hold a hearing to decide whether to continue to hold him there, book him in an adult jail or let him go, according to Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson.
A separate hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19 to determine whether Couch’s case is transferred to the adult system. If it is transferred and Couch violates his probation again, he could face up to 10 years in prison per death.
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Associated Press writer Mark Stevenson reported from Mexico City.Associated Press writer Mark Stevenson reported from Mexico City.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.