A judge chose to wait until “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch ages out of the juvenile court system in April before his probation case is moved to adult court.
Advertisement
The decision came during a juvenile court hearing Friday on whether to transfer his case to adult court.
In 2013, Couch, 16, was put on probation after killing four people while driving drunk near Fort Worth. Menikos also ordered Couch, 18, to remain in the maximum security adult Lon Evans Corrections Center where he was moved by the judge on February 5. He and his mother, Tonya Couch, fled there in December apparently to avoid Ethan Couch’s arrest for violating the probation deal that had kept him out of jail.
A Texas judge transferred the case of Ethan Couch to the adult court system on Friday.
If he violates his probation, he could get as much as 10 years in prison for each crash victim. “But there have been no, in my presence, feelings of remorse or questions of guilt or feeling sorry for the people whose lives he’s ended”, Anderson said.
Victims’ families, Couch’s family and media packed into the courtroom Friday, the second time Couch has appeared before Menikos since being returned to Texas in late January.
Couch’s attorney Scott Brown addressed reporters. The terms of Couch’s probation prohibited him from drinking or leaving Tarrant County and if he were found to be in violation of that probation he could be handed a jail sentence.
After the hearing, Brown said he would not request any specific terms of probation for Couch. The judge may order Couch to spend up to 180 days in jail as part of an adult sentence in addition to parole.
His blood-alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit, prosecutors said.
The duo were apprehended in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta on December 28, after a call for pizza delivery tipped off authorities to their whereabouts. I wont say that, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said.
Advertisement
Besides potentially being released on bond, Couch could serve up to 120 days in prison for his quadruple manslaughter, Reuters added, which is presumably the second best sentence that the “affluenza teen” can hope for. She remains on 24-hour home confinement as she faces a felony charge of hindering apprehension for fleeing to Mexico with her son. While Mexican authorities deported the elder Couch two days later, Ethan Couch fought deportation to the United States for about a month, before dropping his extradition battle.
