Tons Of Tips Coming In On Missing Couch
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FORT WORTH (CBS11) - Sheriff Dee Anderson said investigators are sorting through a huge number of tips about the whereabouts of fugitive, affluenza teen Ethan Couch who skipped probation for killing four people in a drunk driving wreck. And they're hoping one of those calls will lead them to a pick up truck.
"We're trying to account for everything that's possible about where they might be and what they might have access to," Anderson said. "And this pick up truck is one thing we has not been able to account for."
The limited edition, Harley Davidson F150 pickup, Texas license plate BC50945, is owned by Ethan's mother Tonya Couch. She has been added to a national police data base notifying officers she is a missing person.
"Then they'll get a hit on her name and on the missing person it says she's possibly accompanying a fugitive," Anderson said. "So hopefully everyone will understand that once they saw that hit on the computer that they need to investigate a little further."
The Tarrant County district attorney is asking the state to move Couch's case from juvenile court to adult criminal before Couch turns 19 in April and is free to walk away from the juvenile system.
"A juvenile who violates his probation can be revoked and he can be sent to the juvenile detention facility until he's 19," District Attorney Sharen Wilson said. "This defendant, Ethan couch, turns 19 in April. Being locked up in a juvenile detention facility for four months does not seem like much punishment to me."
"He's going to get his, period," said defense attorney Jerry Loftin. "You can't get away you can't hide you can't run. Maybe for a while, but they'll find you. Period."
Loftin says an adult criminal court judge will have more power to punish Couch, including revoking probation and sending Couch to prison. And Loftin expects a harsh punishment.
"The higher the profile the case the more likely the guillotine is dropping," he said.
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