Ethan Couch News, Pictures, and Videos

A Texas teenager sentenced to probation for causing a fatal drunken-driving crash was taken into custody late Monday in Mexico, where authorities believe he and his mother fled after he may have violated terms of his probation.

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

As of Tuesday, mother and son remained in custody in Puerto Vallarta, said Ricardo Vera, the representative in Jalisco state for Mexico’s National Institute of Immigration.

Couch and his mother were turned over to Mexico’s immigration authorities because police couldn’t determine whether they were in the country legally, according to a statement from the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office. She rejected prosecutors’ request for a 20-year prison sentence for Couch.

The official isn’t saying whether Couch is being transported by air or ground.

For all the talk about “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch and his family’s wealth, the Tarrant County fugitive and his mother Tonya Couch were found to be staying in a shabby apartment four blocks from the beach in this Pacific coast resort city.

If Couch were to remain in juvenile court, another reporter asked, would it be the case that his “fleeing is not going to cost him anything?” Both underwent a medical checkup and were transferred to immigration authorities.

Couch was also ordered to enroll in a rehabilitation program, which he did. It has clear from the time of the accident, he said, that “there’s just no chance that she will ever think he needs to be punished or held accountable”. We’ve already gone through his case.

NBC notes that “affluenza is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as an official diagnosis”. Ethan Couch received the light sentence after his attorneys said he suffered from “affluenza”, which drew widespread ridicule.

Sheriff Anderson was joined by U.S. Marshal Richard Taylor and Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson. He and his mother lived for less than 30 days in a pricey hotel known as Los Tules, about two miles from downtown Puerto Vallarta, according to a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office in Mexico.

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.

After plowing into Mitchell’s vehicle by the side of the road and killing the four people by it but before flipping into a tree, Couch knocked Jennings’ pickup – with two middle school-age boys belted in – into a collision with an oncoming Volkswagen Beetle.

“They are going to be sent back to their country, given that they were in Mexico improperly”, Ariel Vera said.

The office released a photo of Ethan Couch, his blond hair, and red beard and mustache died dark brown.

“They had planned to disappear”. This has angered many people as they feel justice was not served in this case.

Ethan’s father owns Cleburne Sheet Metal, valued at approximately $15 million. She has been charged with hindering the apprehension of a juvenile, and if convicted, faces between two and 10 years in jail, Wilson said.

Once returned to the U.S., Couch will likely face juvenile court for violating his probation, although Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson hopes to have his case transferred to adult court.

At the time of his conviction, prosecutors said Couch could be incarcerated up to 10 years for violating his probation terms.

In December 2013, the Texas teen pleaded guilty in juvenile court to manslaughter and assault while intoxicated. The judge’s decision to give him probation instead of jail time was controversial at the time, and more so after the recent video appeared to show the teen playing a drinking game at a party.