‘Affluenza’ teen had last party before fleeing, officials say

“That is a 3rd degree felony in Texas”, explained Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson.

Couch has a hearing on January 19 to allow him to be treated as an adult rather than a juvenile.

State law is to blame for that, experts say.

“They had planned to disappear”, Anderson told a news conference in Fort Worth, Texas. “The tax money that we have spent [on the search] is tremendous”.

Tonya Couch could face prison time as well for hindering the apprehension of her convicted son.

That is a relief for some of her son’s victims. Another Good Samaritan, Brian Jennings, also died in the wreck. He added that Couch’s father has been cooperative and that there was no information yet that suggested he was involved in the pair’s disappearance.

“Her entire focus has been on protecting Ethan”, he said.

“I think it’s particularly satisfying to families that, indeed, it appears that his mother, Tonya, may have committed a crime and may finally be held accountable as well”, he said.

It’s not her first criminal case.

Prosecutors said they will seek to reinstate Couch’s probation agreement.

He said that he did not renew the lease and that their last day in the home was August 31.

The sentence and that term triggered widespread outrage, and the Couches’ alleged fleeing has drawn attention back to his case.

“Crossing over from here to Mexico is not a hard thing to do”, Anderson said.

Couch and his 48-year-old mother were tracked down in Mexico and taken into custody on Monday evening in the Pacific Ocean beach city of Puerto Vallarta.

The two had been staying at a hotel in the Puerto Vallarta area, the source said. “They even had something that was nearly akin to a going-away party before leaving town”, Mr Anderson said. He did not elaborate.

CNN, citing officials briefed on the matter, said Couch and his mother were located near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and said Couch would be turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Couch was picked up in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Monday at 6 p.m. local time along with his mother, according to a spokesman for the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office.

A hotel employee recommended they find a more modest and discreet place.

After their detention, they were handed over to Mexican immigration authorities for deportation, the office said. They contacted Mexican authorities, who arrested the pair yesterday. Additionally, Couch changed his appearance when he left the United States, dying his hair a darker color than its natural blond.

Ethan Couch became known in the United States as the “affluenza” teen during his trial in juvenile court over the deaths of four people in the 2013 crash.

He was sentenced to 10 years drug-and-alcohol-free probation for intoxication manslaughter. She rejected prosecutors’ request for a 20-year prison sentence for Couch.

Despite the limited prospects, authorities hope the Mexico episode will help make up for what most considered an incredibly lenient punishment two years ago.

But Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson has said he believes the two fled in late November after a video surfaced that appears to show Couch at a party where people were drinking.

Couch would then face up to 120 days in an adult jail, followed by 10 years’ probation.

Timothy McLaughlin said his son, Isaiah, still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after being injured in the June 15, 2013, crash.

“The best thing for him is to do time and let reality set in”, McLaughlin said.

What is clear is that it’s unlikely the “affluenza” defence is going to work a second time.

Couch’s attorneys, Scott Brown and Reagan Wynn, said they won’t comment until they speak with him, which likely won’t happen before Couch reaches the U.S.

Couch is an adult who is now being supervised by the juvenile system.

The district attorney said that despite Couch’s flight across the border, officials’ options for harsher penalties for him are limited.