Officials: Ethan Couch, ‘affluenza’ teen, could spend several months in jail

The heaviest punishment “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch can receive for fleeing the country is several months in jail, Tarrant County, Texas, District Attorney Sharen Wilson said Tuesday in a press conference.

Since Couch, caught Monday in Mexico with his mother after a two-week search, fled while he was on probation as a juvenile, any punishment would be limited to the term of his juvenile probation, which expires when he turns 19 in April.

A hearing to transfer his case to an adult court is scheduled for Jan. 19. The change would extend his time on probation.

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said an arrest warrant was issued for Couch’s mother, Tonya Couch, for hindering an apprehension, a third-degree felony punishable by a sentence of two to 10 years in prison.

A Mexican immigration official told The Associated Press the two will return to the U.S. Wednesday. The official, who is not authorized to be quoted by name, told Associated Press reporter E. Eduardo Castillo that there are no seats available on commercial flights to allow a Tuesday return.

The official said the Couches will stay at immigration facilities in Jalisco’s state capital, Guadalajara, where they will be given food and rooms with beds.

Wilson, Anderson and U.S. Marshal Richard Taylor had a joint news conference Tuesday after Couch and his mother were detained Monday evening in the Mexican beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta.

Authorities had been seeking Ethan Couch for about two weeks after he missed an appointment with a juvenile probation officer.

Couch, who is serving 10 years’ probation for killing four people in a 2013 drunken driving crash, crossed into Mexico with his mother before a juvenile arrest warrant was issued for his arrest Dec. 16, Anderson said.

“Crossing over from here to Mexico is not a hard thing to do,” Anderson said. “I don’t think there would have been any issue or problem getting out, especially since it was before any detention order was issued.”

They were fleeing in Tonya Couch’s black Ford pickup truck, and eventually made their way to Mexico’s western coast.

“Our understanding is that they did drive the truck down there,” Anderson said. “That is what we have been told on different occasions.”

The Jalisco state prosecutor’s office told ABC News in a statement that the Couches were captured at the intersection of Argentina and Colombia streets in Puerto Vallarta, a few blocks from the beach.

Anderson said authorities began to zero in on the Couches’ whereabouts Thursday. U.S. marshals began getting help from Jalisco authorities Saturday.

Before they fled, Couch and his mom had something akin to a going away party, indicating “they had planned to disappear,” Anderson said.

Possible punishments

When Couch returns to Tarrant County, he’ll attend a juvenile detention hearing to determine where he’ll be held.

In a Jan. 19 hearing, it will be determined whether his case will be transferred to the adult probation system or remain in the juvenile court.

If he’s transferred to adult court, he can be sentenced to 120 days in jail as a condition of adult probation, and then would continue the remaining eight years of his probation.

Wilson called it “the horns of the dilemma,” when dealing with juvenile cases — Couch fleeing the country isn’t enough on its own to trigger a lengthy prison sentence.

She said her office will push for Couch to be transferred to the adult probation system, where he would remain under supervision until February of 2024.

“In our state — in juvenile court — the standard is what is in the best interest of the child,” Wilson said. “That's how he got 10 years’ probation from the juvenile judge to begin with. That judge at that time thought it was in the best interest of the child.”

But the adult system, Wilson said, focuses on the protection of the community, on sentences appropriate for the conduct that occurred and on rehabilitation of the offender where appropriate.

“I no longer think it’s appropriate for this defendant,” Wilson said.

If Couch violates the terms of his adult probation, Wilson said her office would file a motion to have his probation revoked. If revoked, Couch could be sentenced to 10 years in prison on each of his four intoxication manslaughter convictions.

In such a situation, Wilson said her office would seek to have the sentences stacked, meaning Couch could be sentenced to 40 years in prison.

In a statement released Tuesday, Couch’s attorneys, Reagan Wynn and Scott Brown said, “At this point, we have not had an opportunity to speak with our client and we do not anticipate being able to do so unless and until he arrives in the United States.”

Couch disappeared after the district attorney’s office began investigating a video that appeared to show him clapping as friends played beer pong. The six-second video clip was sent out via Twitter on Dec. 2.

U.S. marshals joined the search for Couch on Dec. 18.

His mother was later declared missing.

Couch’s sentencing

State District Judge Jean Boyd, who is now retired, sentenced Couch to probation on four counts of intoxication manslaughter in December 2013. Couch 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 Couch 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 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 veered 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 had 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.

Staff reporter Deanna Boyd contributed to this report

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 5:13 AM with the headline "Officials: Ethan Couch, ‘affluenza’ teen, could spend several months in jail."