“Affluenza” Teen Detained in Mexico

Officials said it “certainly looks like him” in the video, but can not yet prove he violated probation. The Couches’ home had been cleared out and their passports were missing, leading authorities to speculate that they had fled the country.

Earlier this month, a brief video emerged on Twitter of young men playing beer pong. The teen’s father was said to be cooperating with investigators.

No immediate charges were planned for others who may have known about or assisted with the flight plan, Anderson said.

Authorities took that as evidence that such a move indicated some degree of premeditation, and Anderson said that it meant “what we had suspected all along had happened” – that Couch and his mother were actively trying to avoid authorities.

In a new arrest photo released by the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office Monday, the 18-year-old is seen in a short-sleeve, button-down shirt opened almost down to his navel, and with his hands cuffed behind his back. His mother has also been listed as missing, and authorities feared that they fled the country. She was determined that he not be held accountable during his trial, he said.

At a press conference Tuesday morning, U.S. Sheriff Dee Anderson said the mother and son may have celebrated in some way “akin to a going away party” before heading to Mexico. Couch, with blood alcohol levels three times over the limit, drove into a group of pedestrians offering roadside assistance with a broken-down vehicle.

Couch killed 24-year-old Breanna Mitchell, whose SUV had broken down, and three people who had stopped to help: youth pastor Brian Jennings 41, and Hollie Boyles, 52, and her daughter, Shelby Boyles, 21. They were all working to change a flat on the side of the road. Outrageously, a judge accepted his lawyer’s “affluenza” defense.

“I wish I hadn’t used that term”.

In reference to the victim’s families, Anderson said he hopes justice will be served this time around. “They didn’t think about it, they just panicked”.

“At this point, we have not had the opportunity to speak with our client and we do not anticipate being able to do so unless and until he arrives in the United States”.

The U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined in the search. Under Texas law, when someone under 17 is convicted of a crime, the case remains in juvenile court until his 19th birthday; then the sentence can be dropped.

The Tarrant County District Attorney’s office also confirmed the two had been detained. That is, the adult court judge could not punish Couch for violations he committed as a juvenile. He can be sentenced to 120 days in jail as a condition of adult probation, and then would continue the remaining eight years of his probation. If it’s determined he was drinking, Couch’s probation could be revoked and he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.