‘Affluenza’ Teen Being Held in Mexico

In a story December 29 about the detention of a Texas teen on probation for a deadly drunken-driving crash, The Associated Press reported erroneously the punishment that Ethan Couch could face if his probation is revoked.

Richard Hunter, of the U.S. Marshals Service in Texas, said at a news conference that the decision will likely take weeks rather than days, depending on the court’s priorities.

Her son, Ethan, is being held in an immigration facility in Mexico City. If convicted of the hindering charge, she could face two to 10 years in prison, Anderson said.

The Couch family’s arrogance is so offensive that most readers, no doubt, are rooting for the harshest sentence possible for mother and son.

There was no immediate comment Monday night from the U.S. Marshals Service, which had issued a wanted poster promising a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Couch’s whereabouts and capture. But Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Couch was not expected to be transferred until she is arraigned in California next week.

Charges were filed against Tonya Couch, 48, of Burleson late Wednesday.

Anderson said he was not surprised that the pair would seek to drag out their return to Texas.

Los Angles prosecutors say that won’t happen until at least next week.

This Dec. 28, 2015 photo released by Mexico’s Jalisco state prosecutor’s office shows who authorities identify as Ethan Couch, after he was taken into custody in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

It was not immediately clear why Tonya Couch was not included in the judge’s injunction.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office says no extradition hearing will be scheduled this week for Tonya Couch.

It was unclear why she was taken to Los Angeles instead of Texas, where she and her son live and where he was on probation for the 2013 crash.

“Regarding the case of Ethan Couch, the fugitive teen whose attorneys used an “affluenza” defense during his sentencing for killing four people in a drunken driving wreck (” “Affluenza” Teen Tried to Flee,” Dec. 30 National Briefs): “Affluenza may prohibit you from understanding right from wrong and accepting the responsibilities of your actions.

Tonya Couch, the mother of the “affluenza teen” Ethan Couch, was deported to the USA from Mexico Wednesday.

Couch and his mother fled the U.S. earlier this month after a video surfaced online apparently showing Ethan Couch at a party where beer was being consumed. “He will be here for the time that is necessary” for the deportation case to close, the migration official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the process could take weeks or months.

That official tells AP reporter Mark Stevenson that a judge has agreed to hear arguments on Couch’s appeal.

Judge Jean Boyd sentenced Couch to probation over the objections of prosecutors who asked for 20 years’ detention.

Ethan Couch picked up the gun the next day, but did not explain why he had the weapon, according to the hotel workers.

On Aug. 10, Tonya Couch sold her 3,964-square-foot house at 1719 Burleson Retta Road in Burleson, deed records show.