'Affluenza' Teen Ethan Couch Postpones Court Appearance
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — The North Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" legal defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck has waived his right to a detention hearing.
That means the next court appearance for 18-year-old Ethan Couch will be February 19, when a judge will decide whether to transfer Couch's case from juvenile to adult court.
Couch's attorneys say they won't challenge the move, but haven't detailed their strategy.
A judge signed a temporary order to move Couch from the W. Ross Juvenile Detention Center, to the adult Lon Evans Corrections Center on February 5. After the move Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Couch's life in the adult facility would be routine, regimented and hopefully safe amid concerns other inmates might target him, but that he would serve his time in a single cell.
Ethan Couch had just arrived back in North Texas on January 28. He had been in custody in Mexico. He and his mother were captured in Puerto Vallarta after fleeing to Mexico when a video was posted to Twitter, allegedly showed him at a party with several people playing beer pong. Consuming alcohol would have been a violation of his parole.
If his case moves to adult court, a judge could order him to spend up to 120 days in jail as part of an adult sentence in addition to probation. If Couch were to violate his probation then, he could get up to 40 years in prison.
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