‘Affluenza’ teen’s attorneys expect him back in Texas for February court date
The attorneys for teenager Ethan Couch, held in a Mexico City detention center for about three weeks, said in a statement Wednesday that they expect him to be “personally present” for his next court date on Feb. 19.
“It is our understanding that paperwork has been filed by Ethan’s counsel in Mexico that will terminate the ongoing Mexican immigration proceedings,” Fort Worth attorneys Scott Brown and Reagan Wynn said in a statement.
“We anticipate that Ethan will be present in the 323rd Judicial District Court at the upcoming hearing on the state’s motion to transfer.”
Tarrant County prosecutors had scheduled a hearing for Tuesday that could have determined whether to transfer Couch’s case from juvenile court to adult court. The hearing was postponed because neither of his parents had been formally notified of the hearing.
After the hearing, Brown said he learned that the legal process for Couch’s return had been set in motion, but he did not offer a timetable for the teen’s return.
Couch’s probation will expire when he turns 19 in April if his case isn’t transferred to adult court.
Juvenile court Judge Timothy Menikos rescheduled the hearing for Feb. 19.
Brown also argued that the hearing should have been delayed since Couch did not voluntarily choose to be absent.
Couch is serving 10 years of probation for a 2013 drunken-driving crash that killed four people and injured several others. During his trial in juvenile court, a witness mentioned that Couch didn’t know right from wrong because of “affluenza” caused by his affluent parents’ failure to impose consequences for his behavior.
Couch and his mother, Tonya Couch, drove to Mexico in early December after a video that appears to show him at a drunken party was posted to Twitter.
A directive to apprehend Ethan Couch was issued by Tarrant County Juvenile Services on Dec. 15, and the Couches were arrested in Puerto Vallarta on Dec. 28.
Tonya Couch was flown to Los Angeles two days later, and Ethan Couch hired Mexican attorney Fernando Benitez to fight extradition.
Benitez could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
When Ethan Couch does return, he is likely to be escorted by the U.S. marshals to Texas, and then the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department will escort him to Fort Worth, Sheriff Dee Anderson said.
Last week, a judge lowered Tonya Couch’s bail from $1 million to $75,000. She was released on bail and was ordered to 24-hour home confinement. She has been charged with hindering apprehension, a third-degree felony.
Ryan Osborne: 817-390-7684, @RyanOsborneFWST
This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 6:34 PM with the headline "‘Affluenza’ teen’s attorneys expect him back in Texas for February court date."