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 Ethan Couch, 18, became known as the "affluenza" teen during his
trial in juvenile court over the 2013 crash. He and his mother were
captured by Mexican authorities on Monday in the Pacific Coast beach
city of Puerto Vallarta. They were likely to be returned to the
United States on Wednesday.
During Couch's trial, a psychologist sparked outrage by saying in
his defense that Couch was so wealthy and spoiled he could not tell
the difference between right and wrong. He was sentenced to 10 years
drug-and-alcohol-free probation for intoxication manslaughter, a
punishment condemned by critics as privilege rewarded with leniency.
Couch and his mother, Tonya Couch, fled the country after a video
surfaced online apparently showing Couch at a party where beer was
being consumed. Authorities had been investigating that video as a
potential parole violation.
Couch had missed a mandatory meeting with his probation officer,
prompting officials in Tarrant County, Texas, to issue a warrant for
his arrest earlier this month.
Couch and his 48-year-old mother were tracked down and captured near
Puerto Vallarta's seafront promenade. Mexican authorities said they
had been working with the U.S. Marshals Service since Dec. 24 to
locate the pair.
The mother and son apparently entered Mexico by land, said Ricardo
Vera, a local official for Mexico's National Migration Institute. He
said the two did not register when entering Mexico and it was not
clear where they came in. Vera said owing to a shortage of seats on
Tuesday flights to Houston, the two were now more likely to return
to Texas on Wednesday from Jalisco's state capital, Guadalajara.
"They had planned to disappear," Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson
told a news conference in Fort Worth, Texas. "They even had
something that was almost akin to a going-away party before they
left town."
When they arrived back in the United States, Couch would appear in
juvenile court and his mother would be arrested for hindering an
apprehension, Anderson said.
Ethan Couch's attorney, Reagan Wynn, declined to comment, saying in
a statement he had not had the chance yet to speak with his client.
In Puerto Vallarta, eyewitness Cristina Barraza said she saw Tonya
Couch's arrest. She was led with hands behind her head by a man in
plainclothes to a white pickup truck in front of a modest four-story
building where the pair were reportedly staying.
 Afterwards, the vehicle sped off, said Barraza, saying she did not
see Ethan Couch during the arrest.
She also recalled an exchange with the mother last week as she sat
outside her home on the sidewalk across the street. "She came along
here and greeted me in Spanish. She was nice."
Jalisco's Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer told reporters the pair
had first stayed in a bungalow close to the beach, then moved to a
"more discreet" apartment further into town. They were detained
while arriving back at the apartment on Monday evening and put up no
resistance, he said.
BLOND TO DARK-HAIRED
A police booking picture from Mexico showed the previously blond
Ethan Couch with dark hair, which the sheriff said suggested Couch
was trying to change his appearance.
Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said that she
expected the judge to hold Couch after his juvenile hearing, and
that she hoped it would be in an adult jail.
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At a previously scheduled Jan. 19 court hearing, Wilson had planned
to ask a judge to transfer Couch's case into the adult court system
from the juvenile system, putting Couch under stricter supervision
and leaving him open to harsher punishment if he violated probation.
If he were in the adult system, Couch could face 120 days in jail
for not meeting with his probation officer as required, and he could
face up to 40 years in prison if he violated probation again after
that, Wilson said.
U.S. Marshal Rick Taylor and Anderson declined to say how
authorities tracked Couch down, but CNN said the marshals used
Couch's mobile phone to locate him.
'HANDS-OFF' PARENTING
In the fatal accident, Couch, then 16, was speeding and had a
blood-alcohol level of nearly three times the legal limit when he
lost control of his pickup truck and fatally struck a stranded
motorist on the side of the road and three people who had stopped to
help.
Susan Cloud, a friend of Brian Jennings, one of those killed, said
she felt conflicted about what should happen to Couch, but wished he
had not thrown away his second chance under his probation.
“I feel more negatively toward his mother than I do him," Cloud
said. “The parents seem to have a completely hands-off approach.”
Sheriff Anderson said last week that the passports for Couch and his
mother had been reported missing by the teen's father, who has
cooperated with investigators. Fred Couch is divorced from the
mother and owns a successful sheet metal business near Fort Worth.
The “affluenza” term was apparently used for the first time
explicitly in defense during Couch's trial, but has been a theory in
sociological and psychological circles since the late 1990s to
explain the impact of indulgent parenting, said Daniel Medwed, a
criminal law professor at Northeastern University in Boston.
The notion of rich kids getting leniency based on their advantages
sparked a public backlash against the theory, Medwed said, adding,
“My hunch is this latest parole incident will mark the end of its
use.”
(Additional reporting by Anahi Rama and Veronica Gomez in Mexico
City, Robert Iafolla in Washington, Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida
and Melissa Fares in New York; Writing by Ben Klayman; Editing by
Jonathan Oatis, Frances Kerry and Tom Brown)
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