“Affluenza” Teen, Mother, Will Be Returned To Texas

DALLAS (AP) – Authorities said a Texas teenager serving probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck after invoking an “affluenza” defense was in custody in Mexico, weeks after he and his mother disappeared.

Ethan Couch, 18, and his mother, Tonya Couch, were taken into custody on Monday evening in the Pacific Ocean resort of Puerto Vallarta.

“Still, he was given the benefit of the doubt, as a sheriff’s spokesman in Tarrant County, said, “[Cases] are not prosecuted or revoked or modified based on hearsay or based on a grainy video that we can’t identify someone in.” If Couch had been found to be drinking, the terms of his probation could have been revoked and he could have faced up to 10 years in prison.

Couch, the son of millionaire parents, made headlines during his trial when a psychologist testifying on his behalf claimed he suffered from “affluenza”.

The American Psychiatric Association does not recognise “affluenza” as a medical diagnosis. Vera said owing to a shortage of seats on Tuesday flights to Houston, the two were now more likely to return to Texas on Wednesday from Jalisco’s state capital, Guadalajara. He said the teen paid for meat and chicken nuggets in pesos and only spoke in English – even telling the butcher he was from Texas.

Couch and his mom had something akin to a going away party before they fled, Anderson said at a news conference Tuesday morning.

By transferring Couch to the standard adult justice system, prosecutors can try to make him serve more time, though they cautioned that an “anomaly” in Texas law limits how much time can be added when a juvenile is transferred to the adult system.

Those who felt the sentence too lenient felt validated when Couch violated his probation and fled.

In a statement released Tuesday, Couch’s attorneys, Reagan Wynn and Scott Brown, said, “At this point, we have not had an 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 office of Tarrant County District Attorney in November asked a court to move Ethan Couch’s case to adult court, where the potential repercussions for failing to follow the rules of probation include are greater. Couch, now 18, had been the subject of an global manhunt after violating terms of his probation for his conviction on four counts of vehicular manslaughter. 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.

Ethan Couch’s mother, Tonya Couch, has been charged with hindering the apprehension of a juvenile, and if convicted, faces between 2 and 10 years in jail, Wilson said. It was not clear whether they had any accomplices.

They 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 newer section.

Meanwhile, Tonya Couch could end up in jail longer than her son.

Authorities said Couch dyed his hair in an attempt to hide while in Mexico.

When asked about the change in Couch’s appearance Sheriff Anderson said, “We certainly talked numerous times during the investigation that we believed that they [family] would do everything they could to change their appearance”.

Anderson said “intelligence information” indicated that Couch and his mother had driven across the border.

The owner of a local eatery said Couch went into the restaurant a couple of times and sat at a table in the back.

In 2013, four people died in a drunk-driving accident over which Couch pleaded guilty.