‘Affluenza Teen’ To Remain In Juvenile Detention For Now

Couch was returned to the United States on Thursday. Rest assured that in the days and months ahead we will do everything we can under the law to hold him accountable for what he’s done, realizing that we will always be limited by the juvenile judge’s sentence of a 10 year probation in 2014.

(AP Photo/Ron Jenkins). Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson speaks with media after Ethan Couch was taken into the Scott D. Moore Juvenile Justice Center on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas. Molina survived but severely injured: He is paralyzed and can communicate only by blinking his eyes. The sentence was handed down after experts said Couch suffered from “affluenza” and had rich parents who didn’t teach him right from wrong. If that happens, he could be eligible for release on bail, court officials have said, adding that the bail option was not available to him in the juvenile system.

In June 2013, Couch, who was 16 at the time, slammed his pick-up truck into a group of people on the side of a road in Burleson, Texas. “Yet it’s frustrating because we have to deal with the understanding (that) if my brother was the one driving the vehicle with all these victims, my mother really believes he would have gotten the death penalty in Texas”.

“Just because he hasn’t come out and given a public statement doesn’t mean he’s not remorseful”, Brown said in response. Eric Boyles, who lost his wife and daughter in the wreck, was at the hearing but declined an interview request.

CBS News is reporting that the judge chose to keep Couch in a juvenile facility, even though he is not a juvenile, while they wait for the February hearing that will decide how he is punished from here on out.

But Ethan Couch’s Mexican lawyer, Fernando Benitez, told AFP that the young man dropped his appeal on January 15 and a judge accepted the decision on Tuesday.

Couch, 18, had previously been in custody in Mexico since he and his mother, Tonya Couch, were arrested in Puerto Vallarta on December 28.

The teen was later sentenced to 10 years’ probation, which including barring him from drinking or leaving Tarrant County, Texas.

Authorities tracked Couch and his mother to Mexico, where they were detained last month.

If his case remains in juvenile court, prosecutors could ask for a separate hearing to determine whether Couch violated his probation.

Ethan Couch was sentenced by state District Judge Jean Boyd to 10 years’ probation in 2013 and was also ordered to enter a lockdown addiction treatment facility.

A lawyer for Couch said on Friday he will abide by the terms of his probation. Couch failed to show up for a meeting with his probation officer after a video surfaced allegedly showing Couch violating rules.

According to AP, Couch is scheduled to appear before a judge Friday, at which point it will be determined whether he will be moved to an adult facility.