Couch, 18, was on probation for killing four people in a drunk driving accident in 2013.
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In the sentencing phase his defense team had argued that he suffered from “affluenza”, meaning, they explained, that his affluent upbringing and his mother and father’s profoundly dysfunctional parenting led to his irresponsible behavior.
Mexico’s Jalisco state prosecutors’ office said in a statement that its agents had been working with American authorities via the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara since Saturday to track down and capture the pair.
Anderson did not give the specific date of the Couches alleged departure.
The owner of a local eatery said Couch went into the restaurant a couple of times and sat at a table in the back. He will then go on parole. A prosecutor says that during a hearing next month they plan to ask a judge to transfer Ethan Couch’s case to adult court.
“Their wish is o return to the state of Texas”.
Castillo reported from Mexico City.
A hearing in mid-January will determine whether Couch will remain in the juvenile system or be transferred to adult probation. “We no longer have to be concerned about the best interest of the child”, she said.
Conversely, the most a juvenile court could do is order Couch be imprisoned until he reaches the age of 19, which sets his release for April 11 – causing more frustration for critics who have labeled him as the “affluenza teen” because of financial privilege.
The prosecution asked for the maximum 20 years, which seemed more than reasonable given that it averaged out to five years per death.
“He has not been held accountable yet”, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said.
State District Judge Jean Boyd, who is now retired, sentenced Couch to probation on four counts of intoxication manslaughter in December 2013. He was speeding when he lost control of his pickup truck, swerved off a suburban road and plowed at up to 70mph into a group of people who were helping Breanna Mitchell, whose auto had broken down. His wife, Hollie Boyles, and their daughter, Shelby Boyles, were killed in the crash as they sought to help a stranded motorist, Breanna Mitchell, 24, of Lillian.
“As you can imagine Puerto Vallarta at Christmas time, a tremendous amount of tourists down there”, Anderson said.
A Texas sheriff says that a woman and her son drove a pickup truck to Mexico as they fled his probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck. Plenty of people assisted the police, though: Investigators received “dozens and dozens of calls of sightings” from people who knew the Couches, Anderson said.
No immediate charges were planned for others who may have known about or assisted with the plan, Anderson said. And instead of a maybe-yes-maybe-no Twitter video, there’s no doubt that Couch affirmatively fled, unless his mother tries to convince authorities that she kidnapped him.
After breaking probation and disappearing earlier this month, the “affluenza teen” and his mother were captured by authorities late-Monday in Mexico, according to USA Today.
It’s tough to explain the legal maze that stands to benefit Ethan Couch in the form of a light punishment for violating his probation.
“It didn’t work too well”, he said.
Tonya Couch is expected to face charges of hindering apprehension, which could carry a sentence of between two and 10 years behind bars, Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said. She could serve two to 10 years in jail.
“I don’t remember”, she said.
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It was a short time after that video started making headlines that Sheriff Anderson said Couch and his mother made a decision.
