Los Angeles:
The mother of a fugitive Texas teen known for using an “affluenza” defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident is jailed in Los Angeles today after being deported from Mexico, police said.
An Los Angeles police fugitive task force picked up Tonya Couch shortly after 1:30 a.m. at Los Angeles International Airport and took her to the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to Officer Norma Eisenman. Her 18-year-old son, Ethan Couch, remains in a Mexican jail.
She will be held at the downtown jail until US marshals take her to Texas, where she and her son live and where he was on probation for the 2013 crash, Eisenman said.
The police spokeswoman didn’t know why Couch came through Los Angeles or when she would be transported.
US Marshals Service spokesman Eugene Hwang said he could not reveal details about Couch’s trip through California or say how long she might be there, citing security concerns in transporting someone in custody.
Authorities believe Ethan Couch, who was sentenced only to probation for the wreck that killed four people, fled to Mexico with his mother in November as prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation.
Both were taken into custody Monday after authorities said a phone call for pizza led to their capture in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.
Ethan 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.
During the sentencing phase of his trial, a defense 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 during the legal proceedings drew ridicule.
Couch 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 center.
A Mexican court delayed Ethan Couch’s deportation yesterday, giving a judge three days to decide whether he has grounds to challenge his deportation based on arguments that kicking him out of the country would violate his rights.
