‘Affluenza’ teen held in Mexico

The Couches were detained by authorities in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the Tarrant County Texas District Attorney’s Office confirmed Monday around 6 p.m. Couch’s probation forbid drugs or alcohol, although authorities would have had to prove he violated.

During Ethan Couch’s trial in juvenile court over the deadly crash in 2013, a psychologist testified on his behalf that he was afflicted with “affluenza”, and that he was so spoiled by his wealth that he could not tell the difference between right and wrong. The condition is not recognised as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association and its invocation drew ridicule.

Overnight, the now-18-year-old Couch and his mother were taken into custody in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

“We’re still bound by the original sentence”, Wilson said.

Ethan Couch was on the run with his mother Tonya Couch.

The Couches told immigration officials that they entered Mexico through the crossing in Tijuana.

In deposition tapes obtained by ABC News 20/20, the mother of Ethan Couch – the Tarrant County teen who was convicted on four counts of vehicular manslaughter following a 2013 drunk driving crash – described her parenting practices to attorneys. The pair had been expected to come back to the United States Wednesday, but it now appears they’re trying to stall the process.

Anderson also said there was “more or less” a going-away party thrown in the days before the Couches fled south of the border, suggesting their trip was carefully planned.

Investigators received helpful information from people who know the Couches, and “dozens and dozens of calls of sightings” of them or their pickup truck, he said.

Sheriff Anderson said: “I’d like for him to be accountable”. On Tuesday he would not comment on when the gathering took place or say who had attended, but said it implied that Couch’s disappearance was “carefully planned”.

Officials in the state of Jalisco said authorities had been working with U.S. officials since Boxing Day to track down the mother-and-son team after Couch failed to keep an appointment with his probation officer on December 10.

The court agreed with the appeal for leniency and sentenced Couch to 10 years of probation instead of the 20 years in prison that prosecutors had requested. A police booking picture from Mexico showed the previously blond Ethan Couch with dark hair.

Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, told The Washington Post that the office had filed a motion in November to have Couch’s case moved from juvenile court to adult court when he turns 19. In adult court, Couch could receive 120 days in jail for violating the terms of his probation.

Anderson said an arrest warrant would be issued for Couch’s mother, Tonya Couch, on charges of hindering an apprehension.

Earlier, Ricardo Ariel Vera, the representative of Mexico’s immigration institute in the western state of Jalisco, said Tonya and Ethan Couch, 18, were held Tuesday at immigration offices in the state capital, Guadalajara. They were detained while arriving back at the apartment on Monday evening and put up no resistance, he said. The pair had entered Mexico as tourists and had exceeded their allowed length of stay, Ramirez said.

Wilson is asking the local juvenile court judge – not the one who issued the original sentence – to transfer Couch to adult court.

Anderson had said last week it was possible Couch and his mother had fled the country.

“I don’t remember”, she said. Fred Couch is divorced from the mother and owns a successful sheet metal business near Fort Worth.