‘Affluenza’ teen arrives in Texas

He’s now serving 10 years probation for killing four people in a drunk driving crash.

Couch fled to Mexico in December along with his mother after a video emerged on social media that likely showed the teen in violation of the probation deal reached in juvenile court that kept him out of prison for causing the deadly crash in 2013.

A court hearing was scheduled for Friday, during which a judge could decide to move Couch to an adult jail, according to the Associated Press.

Raw, compiled video of Ethan Couch’s extradition from Mexico, his arrival at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and transport to a juvenile detention facility in Tarrant County. That hearing is slated to determine whether Couch’s case can be transferred to an adult court, the county district attorney’s office said. A psychologist who testified for the defense claimed Couch had “affluenza”, suggesting he was too rich and spoiled to understand the consequences of his actions. The teen now joins his mother Tonya Couch, 48, back in Texas.

“As we previously indicated would happen, Ethan voluntarily returned to the United States today”.

Couch, who had been on the lam in Mexico with his mother Tonya whenhe was caught last month, officially dropped his appeal against deportation on Wednesday.

Tarrant County officials want to move the teen’s probation to the adult court system on his 19th birthday in April to hold him better accountable.

In a video sent by authorities in Mexico, Ethan Couch could be seen signing papers before being accompanied by Mexican officials onto the plane.

The penalty for allegedly violating his probation, by running to Mexico, is 120 days in jail.

Couch’s Mexican lawyer, Fernando Benitez, said Tuesday that Ethan Couch had formally ratified his decision to drop the appeal on Monday.

” ‘I gave him several options, but he chose to go to Texas to face whatever charges he faces, ‘ Benitez said”. Tonya Couch was extradited to Texas earlier this month to face a charge of hindering the apprehension of a felon, but her son initially contested his deportation before giving up this week.

“Ethan Couch is in route back to the USA and is expected to attend his February 19th transfer hearing in person – and so will MADD”, Sheehey-Church said.

About 11:45 p.m. on June 15, 2013, Couch was speeding down Burleson-Retta Road in southern Tarrant County in a F-350 pickup with seven teenage passengers when he drove off the road, clipped an SUV and smashed into its driver and three other people. The expert deemed the condition “affluenza”, which isn’t recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association and drew widespread derision.