Tonya Couch appears in court in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016.
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Eager to have her day in court, the mother of the fugitive teen who used affluenza has a defense after killing four people in a drunken crash will face a judge on Friday.
Anderson met Tonya Couch at DFW Airport personally, he said, and rode shotgun in the Tarrant County van that returned the fugitive from Fort Worth.
Couch appeared in a yellow jumpsuit in court Friday and complained to the judge about her jail conditions, saying it was too bright to sleep, according to WFAA. 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.
Jalisco St. Prosecutor’s Office Ethan Couch was on the lam before he was caught last month.
Judge Salvant told Couch that if she does make bond, she will have many restrictions, including a Global Positioning System monitor.
Patten and Gordon went on to say that the “job” of the sheriff is to “hold press conferences” and “supervise his or her staff” and accuses Anderson of “piggybacking” on the case to gain attention for an upcoming election.
Ethan and Tonya Couch fled the U.S.in mid-December and drove to Mexico when he was under investigation for violating probation, but before a warrant was issued.
She confirmed that she has hired a lawyer. Her attorney also asked if her million-dollar bail could be reduced, hinting at the idea that what was thought to be endless funds could be running low.
Tonya Couch was housed in a maximum security cell by herself Thursday night at the Lon Evans Correctional Facility, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said.
Couch, 48, has not yet entered a plea.
He was 16 and driving drunk on June 15, 2013, when he crashed his pickup into a group of people trying to help a stranded motorist along a road in southern Tarrant County.
“It’s jail, not a resort”.
Afterward Couch’s attorney, Stephanie Patten, said she had concerns that Anderson had talked with her client about her passport.
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The teen pleaded guilty in juvenile court to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault and was sentenced to 10 years’ probation.
