Affluenza’ Teen’s Mom Tonya Couch Released from Jail

A Tarrant County judge has reduced the bail of Tonya Couch, the mother of affluenza teen Ethan Couch, from $1 million to $75,000.

Tonya Couch is separated from Fred Couch, Ethan’s father, who owns a suburban Fort Worth business that does large-scale metal roofing.

Darran Gabbert said he interviewed several people who said Tonya and Ethan Couch attended a “planning” meeting with a number of Ethan’s friends prior to them leaving for Mexico.

Couch is accused of helping her son flee after the release of a video purporting to show him at a party watching a beer drinking game, possibly a violation of his parole for killing four people in a 2013 drunk driving crash.

Couch’s attorneys argued on Monday that Couch was not in a position to afford the $1 million bond for the third degree felony charge of hindering the apprehension of her felon son, Ethan. He said Tonya Couch has already demonstrated a willingness to defy probation restrictions.

Couch’s son, Steven McWilliams, testified at Monday’s hearing that his mother can’t pay a bond that high.

Couch spent the weekend in the Tarrant County jail after returning to North Texas from California.

But State District Judge Wayne Salvant said the objective of the bond amount is not oppression but of ensuring that someone makes it to trial.

Tonya Couch’s lawyer says she’ll plead not guilty.

Tonya Couch declined to speak with reporters as she was released from the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth.

“We’re talking about a case that the punishment range is two to 10 years”, Salvant said.

Dallas CBS affiliate KTVT 11 reported the affidavit revealed Couch withdrew $30,000 from a personal bank account weeks before authorities apprehended her and son Ethan in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in late December. She must also submit to urine sample testing and is banned from consuming alcohol.

“I have got to look at the law”, Salvant said on Monday. Couch would only be allowed to leave home for doctor or attorney appointments.

The prosecutor noted that Tonya Couch is married to a millionaire, though she is separated and going through a divorce.

A petition by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers demanding that Ethan Couch’s case be moved from juvenile to adult court had about 29,000 signatures on Tuesday toward its 30,000 goal.