Tonya Couch, right, is escorted into Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016.
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Couch was arraigned Friday on a charge of hinder apprehension for allegedly helping her son flee to Mexico after he violated probation.
Couch was previously in custody in Los Angeles after being deported by Mexican authorities.
Tonya Couch’s attorneys have said she is “eager to have her day in court”.
“She was respectful. Surprisingly, she was very appreciative”, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said at a Thursday press conference. Wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit, she said little at her arraignment.
Ethan Couch was put on probation in 2013 after a drunken-driving incident that left four people dead when he was 16 years old. The case drew renewed rancor when the mother and son fled to Mexico after a video surfaced that appeared to show Ethan Couch, fresh from a rehabilitation center, at a party where people were drinking. He replied, “This is a jail, not a resort”. His probation makes it clear he can not drink alcohol.
The recommended bail bond amount on a third-degree felony is $2,500, according to the Tarrant County Bond Schedule. We have also never seen or heard of a sheriff taking the additional unprecedented step that he took earlier today of interrogating her while in custody at court today (surrounded by four deputies) and while clearly represented by counsel, but without her counsel present! Anderson said that “it’s not a question of if he’s coming back, it’s a question of when he’s coming back”. She and Ethan were arrested in Puerto Vallarta in late December. The judge stated the complaint asserted Tonya Couch provided him with “means of avoiding arrest or affecting escape, by financing and transporting Ethan Couch and his flight from this jurisdiction and the court of the State of Texas”.
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After the deadly crash, Ethan Couch pleaded guilty in juvenile court to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 10 years’ probation. Couch’s attorney is expected to ask to have her bond reduced from $1 million to $15,000.
