Sheriff: Mom of ‘affluenza’ teen posts bond, release expected Tuesday after
District Judge Wayne Salvant reduced Couch’s bond after a lengthy hearing Monday afternoon.
The mother of a Texas teenager, derided for his “affluenza” defense for killing four people while driving drunk, posted bond on Monday and is set to be released from a county jail on Tuesday, the Tarrant County sheriff said.
“Barring any unseen delays, she will be released tomorrow morning after getting monitor”, he tweeted.
In addition to the other guidelines, Salvant ordered Tonya Couch to pay back the Tarrant County sheriff’s office the $3,177.97 they spent transporting her from Los Angeles to the jail in Fort Worth.
The 48-year-old woman is charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon after she and her son, Ethan Couch, were caught in a Mexican resort city.
While state and federal officials worked to extradite the so-called “affluenza” teen and his mother, Tonya Couch was apparently very concerned about her missing dog, a Saarloos Wolfdog.
The diagnosis, which is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, was widely ridiculed.
Patten said Monday that even many violent offenders in Tarrant County haven’t had a bail amount set as high as Couch’s was.
She has been held on a $1 million bond since agreeing to leave Mexico and then California to face charges in Texas. He received 10 years’ probation.
Her son, Ethan Couch, is fighting extradition from Mexico.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the worldwide advocate pushing for an end to drunk driving, has started an online petition lobbying the Texas judicial system and called on supporters to spread awareness using the #FightAffluenza hashtag. Authorities have previously said they had no evidence Fred Couch, who owns a North Texas sheet metal factory, was involved in helping Tonya and Ethan Couch flee.
Wearing an electronic ankle monitor on her left ankle, Tonya Couch, the mother of a Texas teen who used an “affluenza” defense in a drunken wreck, leaves Tarrant County Community Supervision and Corrections Department Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas. She will plead not guilty, said Stephanie Patten, her attorney.
According to an arrest warrant, Tonya Couch had taken $30,000 from a bank account and told Ethan’s father he would never see them again.