During the arraignment in a Fort Worth courtroom, Tonya Couch stood in front of Judge Wayne Salvant in a yellow prison uniform as he read the criminal complaint against her and explained Couch’s rights to her. Couch’s attorney is expected to ask to have her bond reduced from $1 million to $15,000. “Her son, Ethan Couch, remains in custody in Mexico”. They’d been gone for nearly a month, having ditched North Texas following discovery of a video that apparently showed Ethan Couch playing beer pong on Twitter and a missed probation appointment. Authorities are investigating whether Couch, who killed four people in a 2013 drunken-driving wreck, and claimed as part of his defense that he suffered from “affluenza”, has fled with his mother to avoid a potential violation of his probation.
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Anderson expressed the Sheriff’s Office main focus is in bringing back to Tarrant County, Ethan Couch, who remains in Mexico, fighting extradition.
Couch’s lawyers accused the sheriff of using the case to thrust himself into the spotlight as he seeks re-election, adding his escorting to jail of a suspect charged with a third-degree as excessive. Worth court this morning but has not yet entered a plea.
Previous reports indicated that the couple were divorced. We are hopeful that the proceedings will be conducted fairly and lawfully which is a goal we believe the County’s law enforcement personnel, judiciary, and Criminal Bar strive to achieve every day and, not just when news cameras appear. It seems that Tonya Couch objects to the lighting and says she is having a hard time sleeping in jail.
Weeks after she and her son went missing, sparking an global search, Tonya Couch is back where she started: Tarrant County, Texas. Enlarge NBC 5 DFW Tonya Couch appears in court in Texas on Friday.
Nine people were injured, including passengers in Couch’s pickup. Ethan had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit on the night of the crash.
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Because he was portrayed during his trial as an immature teen from a wealthy family – with a passing reference by a witness to his being a victim of “affluenza” – Ethan Couch’s sentencing became a national news story.
