Texas 'affluenza' teen taken into custody in Mexico

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Texas 'affluenza' teen taken into custody in Mexico, official says
Marice Richter, Reuters
First posted: Monday, December 28, 2015 11:28 PM EST | Updated: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 01:11 AM EST
FORT WORTH, Texas - A Texas teen from a wealthy family, a fugitive after breaking his probation sentence for killing four people while driving drunk, has been taken into custody in Mexico, a law enforcement official said on Monday.
Ethan Couch, 18, nicknamed the "affluenza" teen, was serving 10 years probation for intoxication manslaughter in the 2013 incident.
He and his mother, Tonya Couch, 48, disappeared this month, prompting officials in Tarrant County. Texas, to place the teen on the county's most wanted list and issue a warrant for his apprehension.
Couch became known as the "affluenza" teen during his trial in juvenile court, when a psychologist said he was so wealthy and spoiled he could not tell the difference between right and wrong.
A Tarrant County law enforcement official confirmed on Monday that Couch had been detained in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, but declined to give further details.
CNN, citing officials briefed on the matter, said Couch was with his mother and would be turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Mexico's attorney general's office did not respond immediately to calls seeking information.
At age 16, Couch 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 Good Samaritans who had stopped to help.
Several passengers riding in Couch's vehicle were hurt, including one friend who was permanently brain damaged.
Sheriff Dee Anderson said last week it was possible Couch and his mother had fled the country and the home they shared had been cleared of its contents. Their passports had been reported missing by the teen's father, who has been cooperating with investigators.
Police were checking reports that Couch may have left the United States, after a video came out showing him at a party, in a likely violation of his probation.
U.S. Marshals were offering a $5,000 reward in exchange for his whereabouts.
Texas 'affluenza' teen taken into custody in Mexico, official says | World | New
 

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Texas 'affluenza' teen to be returned to U.S.
Marice Richter and David Alire Garcia, REUTERS
First posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 11:24 AM EST | Updated: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 07:15 PM EST
FORT WORTH, Texas/PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico - A rich Texas teenager who fled with his mother to Mexico to avoid possible jail time for violating his probation in a drunken-driving crash that left four people dead planned the flight and even held a farewell party, U.S. authorities said on Tuesday.
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.
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."
This Dec. 28, 2015 photo released by Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office shows who authorities identify as Ethan Couch, after he was taken into custody in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. (Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office via AP)

Texas 'affluenza' teen to be returned to U.S. | World | News | Toronto Sun

Explaining the term 'affluenza' and where it came from
David Warren, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 03:26 PM EST | Updated: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 04:09 PM EST
DALLAS -- A Texas teenager sentenced to probation for causing a fatal drunken-driving crash was taken into custody late Monday in Mexico, where authorities believe he and his mother fled after he may have violated terms of his probation. Ethan Couch, now 18, received the light sentence in 2013 after his attorneys said he suffered from "affluenza," which drew widespread ridicule.
Here's an explanation of the term:
WHAT IS AFFLUENZA?
The term was used by a psychologist testifying for the defence during the sentencing phase of Couch's trial in juvenile court. The expert argued that Couch's wealthy parents had coddled and pampered their son into a sense of irresponsibility -- a condition the expert termed "affluenza" -- to the point that Couch never developed a sense of right and wrong, or suffered any repercussions for bad behaviour.
WHAT DO MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS THINK?
Affluenza is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation during Couch's trial attracted backlash from some medical experts and families of the four people killed in the crash. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the association, is widely used by mental health professionals and makes no mention of affluenza. Dr. Jeffrey Metzner, a forensic psychiatrist and clinical professor at the University of Colorado at Denver, said there are some similarities to the clinical diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder. A person with that disorder feels entitled and doesn't care about other people's needs, he said. But he noted that U.S. law doesn't recognize narcissism as a legitimate defence.
WHERE DOES THE TERM COME FROM?
The term "affluenza" was popularized in the late 1990s by Jessie O'Neill, the granddaughter of a past president of General Motors, when she wrote the book, "The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence." It's since been used to describe a condition in which children -- generally from richer families -- have a sense of entitlement, are irresponsible, make excuses for poor behaviour, and sometimes dabble in drugs and alcohol. Affluenza appears to have entered the pop culture lexicon as a combination of two words: affluent and influenza. A website called The Affluenza Project bills itself as a resource for understanding the effects of money on relationships. Various books on the subject theorize that affluence often doesn't translate into happiness or that it leads to overconsumption and a growing sense of alienation and distress.
HAS AFFLUENZA BEEN USED IN OTHER LEGAL CASES?
It's unclear whether the term has been invoked in other cases, but John Convery with the Texas Criminal Defence Lawyers Association said the underlying argument made by Couch's attorneys -- that being raised in a dysfunctional family contributed to his actions -- were similar to those used in many criminal cases. He said the attorneys' error was invoking a pop culture term that was quickly seized by the media. Although the judge who sentenced Couch was criticized, Convery said the Texas juvenile system weighs on the side of probation rather than incarceration, and "the overarching question for the judge in a juvenile case is what's in the best interest of the child."
Explaining the term 'affluenza' and where it came from | World | News | Toronto
 

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'Affluenza' teen's deportation from Mexico delayed: Official
U.S. Marshals Service says deportation could take weeks
E. Eduardo Castillo And Michael Graczyk, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 12:10 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 05:17 PM EST
HOUSTON -- The Texas teenager known for using an "affluenza" defence in a fatal drunken-driving accident likely won't return to the U.S. anytime soon because of a Mexican judge's decision to delay his deportation, U.S. law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
Richard Hunter, chief deputy U.S. marshal for the southern district of Texas, said during a news conference in Houston that a three-day injunction granted to Ethan Couch will likely take at least two weeks to resolve. Authorities believe the 18-year-old, sentenced only to probation for the 2013 wreck in Texas, fled to Puerto Vallarta with his mother as prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation.
Hunter said Couch's mother, Tonya Couch, also won't be deported as originally planned Wednesday evening, though he didn't say whether she also had been granted a court delay.
The ruling by the Mexican court could lead to a weeks-long legal process if a judge decides the younger Couch has grounds to challenge his deportation based on arguments that kicking him out of the country would violate his rights. The judge has three days to consider Couch's appeal.
The Couches were taken into custody Monday after authorities said a phone call for pizza led to their capture in the Mexican resort city. They were being held by immigration officials in Guadalajara.
During the sentencing phase of Couch's 2013 trial, a defence expert argued that his wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility -- a condition the expert termed "affluenza." The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation drew ridicule.
"Couch continues to make a mockery of the system," said Fort Worth attorney Bill Berenson, who represented Sergio Molina, who was paralyzed and suffered severe brain damage in the crash.
Couch's attorneys in the U.S. didn't return calls seeking comment.
Mexican police say Couch and his mother spent three days in a rented condo at a resort development in Puerto Vallarta before finding an apartment. One of the Couches' telephones had been used to order delivery from Domino's Pizza to the condominium complex in Puerto Vallarta's old town, far from the glitzy resorts of the city's newer section, according to a police report issued by the Jalisco state prosecutors' office.
Agents from the prosecutors' office went to the complex, where a tourism operator told them that the people who had occupied the condo were asked to vacate because the owners were coming to stay over Christmas, the report said. The Couches then moved to an apartment, and the agents set up a surveillance operation in the surrounding streets.
On Monday evening, two people matching the Couches' description were spotted and intercepted. The police report said they behaved evasively, claimed to be carrying no IDs, gave inconsistent stories about their names and failed to provide proof of their legal migratory status in Mexico.
They were taken into custody and handed over to immigration officials.
In Texas, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Tuesday that the Couches had prepared to be gone a while, even dyeing the teenager's blond hair black.
"They had planned to disappear. They even had something that was almost akin to a going-away party before leaving town," Anderson said. He declined to detail the party, including how many people attended.
Anderson said Couch and his mother apparently crossed the border in her pickup and drove to Puerto Vallarta. No immediate charges were planned for others who may have known about or assisted with the plan, Anderson said. He noted that authorities have no evidence that Couch's father, who owns a sheet metal factory in North Texas, was involved.
The sheriff has said he believes the two fled in late November, after a video surfaced that appears to show Ethan Couch at a party where people were drinking. If found to be drinking, Couch could see his probation revoked and face up to four months in jail.
Authorities began searching for him and his mother after he missed a mandatory appointment with his probation officer on Dec. 10.
Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said Tuesday that she planned to ask that Couch's case be transferred to adult court, where he could face up to 120 days in an adult jail, followed by 10 years' probation. If he violates that probation, he could face up to 10 years in prison per death, Wilson said.
Anderson said an arrest warrant was being issued for Tonya Couch on charges of hindering an apprehension, a third-degree felony that carries a sentence of two to 10 years in prison.
Couch was driving drunk and speeding near Fort Worth in June 2013, when he crashed into a disabled SUV, killing four people and injuring several others, including passengers in his pickup truck.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury. A judge sentenced him in juvenile court to 10 years' probation and a stint in a rehabilitation centre.
'Affluenza' teen's deportation from Mexico delayed: Official | World | News | To

'Affluenza' teen's mom deported back to U.S.: Mexico official
Marice Richter and Dave Graham, Reuters
First posted: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 07:22 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 08:14 PM EST
FORT WORTH/MEXICO CITY - The mother of a Texas teenager, scorned for his "affluenza" defense in a trial over a deadly car crash, was deported from Mexico on Wednesday while her son won a temporary delay in his extradition, a Mexican official said.
Ethan Couch, 18, and his mother, Tonya Couch, 48, were captured in the Mexican Pacific Coast city of Puerto Vallarta on Monday. They fled there after officials in Tarrant County, Texas launched a probe into whether Ethan violated the terms of a probation deal that kept him out of prison after he killed four people with his pickup truck in 2013 while driving drunk.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Mexican official said Tonya Couch was placed on a flight to Los Angeles because there were no more flights available to Texas. In Los Angeles, she would be in the hands of the U.S. Marshals Service, the official said.
Authorities in Texas have issued a warrant for Tonya Couch's arrest for hindering apprehension. If convicted, she could face two to 10 years in prison, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said.
A spokeswoman with the U.S. Marshals Service said she could not comment on prisoner movements.
Ricardo Vera, a migration official in Mexico's Jalisco state, said earlier in the day the pair had filed an injunction to delay their extradition and a judge in Mexico would have up to 72 hours to consider the injunction.
Sheriff Anderson said he was not surprised by the pair seeking the delay.
"They (the Couches) have done everything that they can so far to avoid being accountable, or avoid being brought to justice. Any roadblock they can put in the way, any hurdle, I fully expect that," Anderson said in an interview.
Anderson said that when Ethan Couch does arrive back in the United States, he would appear at a detention hearing in the juvenile system. The judge could keep him in a juvenile detention facility or send him to an adult jail, he said.
During Ethan Couch's trial in juvenile court over the deadly crash in 2013, a psychologist testified on his behalf that he was afflicted with "affluenza," and that he was so spoiled by his wealth that he could not tell the difference between right and wrong.
The diagnosis is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association and was has been widely ridiculed.
Couch was convicted on 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. His flight to Mexico rekindled anger over that sentence.
PARTY VIDEO RAISES RED FLAG
Couch and his mother fled the United States earlier this month after a video surfaced online apparently showing Ethan Couch at a party where beer was being consumed. Authorities then launched a probe into a possible parole violation, law enforcement officials said.
The two were tracked down and arrested in Puerto Vallarta. Mexican authorities said they had been working with the U.S. Marshals Service since Dec. 24 to locate them.
In the car crash, Couch, then 16, was speeding and had a blood-alcohol level 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.
During their last days in Puerto Vallarta, Couch and his mother lived in a modest apartment, kept a low profile and at least once used a false name as they tried to stay under the radar, local people and neighbors said.
Asked about U.S. media reports that a pizza order in Puerto Vallarta from a cellphone had led to the arrests, Anderson said it was more than a single incident.
"It was really good old-fashioned police work that led to this," he said.
This undated photo provided by the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office shows Tonya Couch. Authorities said Texas teenager Ethan Couch, who's serving probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck after invoking an "affluenza" defense, was in custody in Mexico, weeks after he and his mother, Tonya Couch, disappeared. Tonya and Ethan Couch were located and detained Monday, Dec. 28, in Puerto Vallarta. (Courtesy of Jalisco state prosecutor’s office)

'Affluenza' teen's mom deported back to U.S.: Mexico official | World | News | T
 

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16 years old,just a kid.
mother?she should know better,as father.

the great thing,is mexico operates on bribes,if they are wealthy,they can buy themselves freedom.