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Sheriff: Couches fighting extradition to U.S., will ‘most likely’ not return today
The Texas teenager who used an “affluenza” defense in a deadly drunken-driving wreck grew up in a wealthy yet unstable household where his parents underwent an acrimonious divorce, which included accusations that his mother was addicted to pain pills and his father was abusive.
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Immigration authorities said they did not receive a judge’s injunction like the one that temporarily blocked the deportation of Ethan Couch.
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson has said he believes Couch and his mother fled to Mexico in late November after a video surfaced that appears to show Couch at a party where people were drinking, which would be a violation of his probation.
His mother who drove with her 18-year-old son were detained Monday and Tonya Couch was put on a plane that arrived in Los Angeles early Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Treaties between the USA and Mexico say that Mexican authorities have to respect Couch’s warrant in the US, so unless he files for asylum, he will not be able to stay in Mexico indefinitely, said Aldo Salazar, a Texas attorney also licensed to practice in Mexico.
Anderson said Couch and his mother apparently crossed the border in her pickup and drove to Puerto Vallarta, though the whereabouts of the truck are unknown. He then missed a mandatory December 10 appointment with his probation officer.
Hotel workers had to go get his mum, Tonya Couch, who was sleeping upstairs.
In other words, she is charged with helping her son flee to Mexico. At the time, many were outraged that a judge sentenced him to probation instead of jail time, slamming his now-notorious “affluenza” defense. The Couches tried to keep a low profile while they stayed at the popular getaway for American tourists. The police spokeswoman didn’t know why Couch came through Los Angeles or when she would be transported.
Tonya Couch was taken in handcuffs through the terminal and into an unmarked vehicle early Thursday morning, escorted by the U.S. Marshals Service, the report notes.
A spokesman in the Mexican state attorney general’s office said Thursday that Couch’s lawyers have successfully “delayed (the) deportation process for an undetermined amount of time”, adding that the wait could be “days, weeks, even months”. He is expected to stay there while his deportation appeal is considered. Tonya Couch is due back in court January 16, according to a court docket. Texas’ Tarrant County District Attorney has charged her with hindering apprehension of a felon and set bail at $1 million.
A judge sentenced him in juvenile court to 10 years’ probation and a stint in a rehabilitation center.
If Ethan Couch fights extradition, it could be anywhere from weeks to months before he is returned to the United States.
The attorney did acknowledge the case, and the lives lost and families destroyed by Ethan Couch’s fatal crash. He pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 10 years’ probation.
US officials were monitoring the cell phone and passed the information along to Mexican authorities, who made the arrest Monday evening.
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The two were asked during the “encounter” with Mexican immigration officials if they were Mexican citizens.