Mother of ‘affluenza’ teen waives right to fight extradition
Because he was portrayed during his December 2013 trial as a immature teen from a wealthy but dysfunctional family – with a passing reference to being a victim of “affluenza” – Ethan Couch’s sentencing became a national news story.
“It is our policy to escort the man back to his hotel or to an ATM machine to get our money if they don’t have it with them”, the manager, Eduardo Dudinez, of Harem, the strip club where Couch accumulated his bill, told the the Daily Mail. The two were detained by Mexican authorities last week.
Down in Texas, Ethan Couch is being represented by hotshot lawyer Fernando Benitez, who is questioning the legality of the United States seeking the return of Couch to Texas.
The brat remains in Mexico after winning a court reprieve that could lead to a weeks- or months-long legal process.
“To the extent of our knowledge, he has committed no crime at all in Mexico”, Benitez said.
She will be returned to Texas, where prosecutors have charged her with hindering the apprehension of a felon.
Anderson said when Ethan Couch arrives in the United States, he would appear at a detention hearing in the juvenile system. Her attorney said the timing of her return is now up to Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson, although it may take until Wednesday to complete all the paperwork in California.
“There’s no getting away now”.
Ethan 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, authorities say. He grabbed national headlines after a judge sentenced him to probation instead of jail time, “slamming his now-notorious “affluenza” defense – that he was too rich and spoiled to understand the consequences of his actions”, the report says. The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation drew ridicule. Prosecutors are planning to ask that she be extradited to Texas.
“One of the conditions of the warrant is that she has to post the bond in a court here in Tarrant County”.
He said Monday that Couch was just hours away from being deported when the injunction was granted last week. If convicted, she could face two to ten years in prison.