‘Affluenza’ teen, mother detained in Mexico, to be returned to US

Couch was driving drunk and speeding near Fort Worth in June 2013, when he crashed into a disabled SUV, killing four people and injuring several others, including passengers in his pickup truck.

He was convicted of DUI vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years’ probation.

Couch also missed a mandatory meeting with his probation officer which prompted officials to issue a warrant for his arrest on December 24.

Couch became known as the “affluenza” teen during his trial in juvenile court, when a psychologist said he was so wealthy and spoiled he could not tell the difference between right and wrong. The so-called condition is not a medically recognized diagnosis. The pair disappeared as authorities investigated whether Couch had violated the terms of his probation.

Anderson said Couch and his mother Tonya Couch drove their pickup truck across the border into Mexico.

“To be honest, we are going to breathe a lot easier when they’re back in this country”, said Anderson.

Because Couch committed the offense when he was 16, prosecutors say they are severely limited in the punishment they can dole out.

The U.S. Marshals Service, which had issued a wanted poster promising a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Couch’s whereabouts and capture, had no immediate comment.

Couch was picked up in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Monday at 6 p.m. local time along with his mother, according to a spokesman for the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office.

Agents from the prosecutors’ office went to the complex, where a tourism operator told them that the people who had occupied the condo were asked to vacate because the owners were coming to stay, the report said. Couch and his mother were found in a dowdy section of Puerto Vallarta’s old town, far from the glitzy resorts, golf courses and high-rise hotels of the city’s newer section. The police report said they behaved evasively, claimed to be carrying no IDs, gave inconsistent stories about their names and failed to provide proof of their legal migratory status in Mexico.

Ethan Couch in court.

(Mexico’s Jalisco state prosecutor’s office via AP).

The sheriff has said he believes the two fled in late November after a video surfaced that appears to show Couch at a party where people were drinking. If found to be drinking, Couch could see his probation revoked and face up to four months in jail.

Ethan Couch’s attorney, Reagan Wynn, said in a statement he had not had the chance to speak with his client and did not expect to be able to until Couch was back in the United States.

In Texas, authorities said the mother and son team had “carefully planned” to get out of the country and had a sort of farewell party before skipping town earlier this month.

Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said that Tonya Couch is expected to face charges of hindering apprehension which could carry a sentence of between two and 10 years behind bars.

Couch would then face up to 120 days in an adult jail, followed by 10 years’ probation.

“We can move him to adult court”, said Wilson, “and an adult judge can instate or enforce his 10-year probated sentence that was given to him before – which means he’d be on additional eight years probation”.

If his case is transferred to the adult justice system, a judge can order Ethan Couch incarcerated for the remainder of his 10-year sentence.

U.S. Marshal Rick Taylor and Anderson declined to say how authorities tracked Couch down, but CNN said the marshals used Couch’s mobile phone to track him down.

Ricardo Vera Lira, a National Migration Institute official, said Couch and his mother were “calm” while in custody at a migration facility in Puerto Vallarta. They did not have the proper paperwork to be visiting Puerto Vallarta, Vera said.