‘Affluenza’ teen Ethan Couch returns to Texas
Ethan Couch, the “affluenza” teen who fled the country in December after missing a probation appointment, returned to Texas this morning from Mexico.
Couch, 18, boarded a flight in Mexico City at 8:50 a.m., Mexican immigration authorities said in a press release Thursday morning. The flight arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport before 11 a.m.
An SUV carrying Couch arrived in Fort Worth about an hour later at the Tarrant County juvenile detention center.
Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Migración said in a statement: “The INM has given the young American a safe process, ordered and documented, as well as permanent food, medical and psychological care as all foreigners who cannot prove the regularity of their stay on the national territory and always in accordance with the respect for their human rights.”
Couch, who turns 19 in April, has a Feb. 19 court date, when a judge will determine whether to transfer his case to an adult court. Mothers Against Drunk Driving released a statement Thursday saying the group plans to attend the hearing. MADD circulated a petition requesting the case be moved to adult court.
Couch and his mother, Tonya Couch, were captured in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Dec. 28, about two weeks after Tarrant County juvenile authorities issued a directive to apprehend the teen.
Tonya Couch, who is facing a felony charge for hindering her son’s apprehension, was released from jail on bond two weeks ago. Judge Wayne Salvant ordered her to 24-hour confinement at her oldest son’s home in southern Tarrant County.
Ethan Couch was sentenced by state District Judge Jean Boyd to 10 years of probation for a 2013 DWI crash that killed four people and injured several others. He was also ordered to enter a lock down addiction treatment facility and not to drive or use alcohol or drugs for 10 years.
Prosecutors had asked that he be sentenced to 20 years in a state lockup.
In his closing statements, Richard Alpert, Tarrant County assistant district attorney, argued that if given a light sentence, Couch would likely veer off the path.
“There can be no doubt that he will be in another courthouse one day blaming the lenient treatment he received here,” Alpert said.
During a hearing in February 2014, Boyd, who is now retired, told the families that her decision had nothing to do with the “affluenza” comment made by a psychologist during testimony on Couch's behalf.
And she told the teen that he, not his parents, is responsible for his actions.
The crash
About 11:45 p.m. on June 15, 2013, Couch was speeding down Burleson-Retta Road in southern Tarrant County in a F-350 pickup with seven teenage passengers when he drove off the road, clipped an SUV and smashed into its driver and three other people.
Couch had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit and traces of Valium in his system, according to court testimony
Killed were Breanna Mitchell, 24, of Lillian, whose SUV had broken down; Brian Jennings, a youth minister at a Burleson church who had stopped to help; and Hollie Boyles, 52, and her daughter, Shelby Boyles, 21, who had come from their house nearby to help.
Another 12 people were injured, including Sergio Molina and Solaiman Mohman, teenagers who were riding in the bed of Couch's pickup. Molina suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Ryan Osborne: 817-390-7684, @RyanOsborneFWST
This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 11:38 AM with the headline "‘Affluenza’ teen Ethan Couch returns to Texas."