‘Affluenza’ teen in court following deportation

(Instituto Nacional de Migracion, INM via AP).

The hearing marks the first time Couch appeared in court since being deported from Mexico on Thursday.

(Instituto Nacional de Migración, INM via AP). Couch was escorted onto a commercial plane, en route to Dallas, Thursday morning.

Rodger Mallison/AP Tonya Couch appears in court in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 8.

The Texas teenager whose lawyers infamously invoked an “affluenza” defense while on trial for a fatal drunken-driving crash is back in the U.S.

“Affluenza” teen Ethan Couch will stay for now at a Texas juvenile facility until a judge decides what to do with him.

Ethan Couch, 18, arrived back in the United States Thursday after being deported from Mexico. Authorities believe he and his mother fled the country as Texas prosecutors investigated whether he may have violated his probation in the 2013 wreck that killed four people, the Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors and the local sheriff wanted Couch moved to an adult jail.

The teen was later sentenced to 10 years of probation, which also barred him from drinking alcohol and leaving Tarrant County, Texas.

The teenager was spared a custodial sentence after his legal team argued his wealthy upbringing had made him irresponsible, a condition they termed “affluenza”.

Several of the victims’ family members attended the Friday hearing, including Tim McLaughlin who disagreed with Brown’s statement.

Couch and his mom, Tonya, were arrested in Mexico last month after a more than two-week-long manhunt after the duo abandoned their Fort Worth-area home.

Dee Anderson doesn’t understand that why Couch shouldn’t be housed with other people his own age.

Judge Timothy Menikos said he was considering a move to an adult prison for Couch. “Yet it’s frustrating because we have to deal with the understanding (that) if my brother was the one driving the vehicle with all these victims, my mother really believes he would have gotten the death penalty in Texas”. Eric Boyles, who lost his wife and daughter in the wreck, was at the hearing but declined an interview request.

Couch’s hearing, scheduled for February 19, will determine whether proceedings should move from juvenile court to the adult system.

“I have confidence that he can not abide by the terms of his probation”, said Tarrant County prosecutor Richard Alpert after the hearing.

Couch initially fought deportation but dropped the fight this week.

His mother, who is facing charges for allegedly helping her son flee, was deported last month after the pair were caught in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She was released on bond after being fitted with an electronic ankle Global Positioning System monitor.

If the case does stay in the juvenile system, Couch could be held in the detention center for violating probation until he turns 19 in April, at which point he would become eligible for parole, AP notes. If he were to violate his probation again, he could get up to 10 years in prison for the 2013 crash. Couch was 16 at the time of the fatal wreck, so the case is being handled for now in juvenile court.