Couch’s mother, Tonya Couch, was brought through Los Angeles International Airport early Thursday after a flight from Mexico.
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Strip club… Mexico’s Jalisco state prosecutor’s office shows Ethan Couch, after he was taken into custody in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
It has since emerged that Couch and his mother were tracked to the holiday town of Puerto Vallarta after using a phone to order Domino’s Pizza while in hiding; the phone was tracked, and the U.S Marshals Service quickly told authorities of its location. Couch was facing changes to the terms of his 10-year probation sentence after he killed four pedestrians while driving drunk; his “affluenza” defense made national headlines.
“While the public may not like what she did, may not agree with what she did, or may have strong feelings against what she did, make no mistake – Tonya did not violate any law of the State of Texas and she is eager to have her day in court”, lawyers Stephanie K. Patten and Steve Gordon said in the statement.
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson has said he believes the mother and son fled in late November after a video surfaced that appears to show Couch at a party where people were drinking. They were detained Monday.
Tonya Couch, who was wanted on a charge of hindering apprehension, was flown out of Mexico to Los Angeles late on Wednesday.
Couch was convicted of four counts of intoxication manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years of drink- and drug-free probation, which critics saw as leniency because of his family’s wealth.
She is being held with out bail in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles and can be transferred to Texas, stated Los Angeles police spokeswoman Jane Kim.
Ethan Couch and his mother are fighting extradition from Mexico to the USA, which will likely delay their return to the country for the time being, officials said this morning. He was sentenced to 10 years’ probation and time in a rehabilitation center after a defense witness testified that he had been coddled by his wealthy parents into a sense of irresponsibility, a condition he called “affluenza”. The decide might hold him in a juvenile detention facility or ship him to an grownup jail, he stated.
It was not immediately clear why Tonya Couch was not included in the judge’s injunction.
Couch disappeared earlier this month after he missed a mandatory meeting with his probation officer.
Ethan Couch, 18, won a delay in his deportation based on a constitutional appeal in Mexico that could lead to a trial process that could last weeks or even months.
The two were asked during the “encounter” with Mexican immigration officials if they were Mexican citizens. The 18-year-old had violated his probation and a manhunt for him ensued.
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Eighteen-year-old Ethan Couch and his mother, Tonya Couch, were being held at immigration offices in Guadalajara on Tuesday. In this case, authorities would be prevented from moving forward with Couch’s deportation until the issue of whether deportation would violate his rights is resolved. Once returned to Texas, he will be held in a county facility until a probation violation hearing January 19.
