'Affluenza' teenager Ethan Couch 'had going away party before fleeing to Mexico'

A Texas woman and her son, a teenager known for invoking an “affluenza” defence after a deadly drink-driving crash, held a sort of farewell party before fleeing his probation, driving to the Mexican border and trying to disguise themselves, officials said.

Tarrant County sheriff Dee Anderson said 18-year-old Ethan Couch and his mother, who were detained on Monday in the Pacific Coast resort city of Puerto Vallarta, planned their disappearance.

“They even had something that was almost akin to a going-away party before leaving town,” he said.

Couch was on juvenile probation for the crash that killed four people when he was 16.

During the sentencing phase of his trial, a defence expert argued that his wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility – a condition the expert termed “affluenza”.

The condition is not recognised as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association and its invocation drew widespread ridicule.

Mr Anderson said an arrest warrant would be issued for Couch’s mother, Tonya Couch, on charges of hindering an apprehension.

A prosecutor said that during a hearing next month they plan to ask a judge to transfer Ethan Couch’s case to adult court.

Couch’s lawyers, Scott Brown and Reagan Wynn, said in a statement they will not comment on the case until they speak with their client, which is not likely to happen before Couch reaches the US.

Ricardo Ariel Vera, the representative of Mexico’s immigration institute in the western state of Jalisco, said the mother and son were being held at immigration offices in the state capital, Guadalajara, and would be returned to the United States aboard a commercial flight to Houston.

“They are going to be sent back to their country, given that they were in Mexico improperly,” Mr Ariel Vera said.

“They would have had to enter, for example, as tourists, but they entered without registering.”

Mexico’s Jalisco state prosecutors’ office said its agents had been working with American authorities since December 26 to track down and capture Couch and his mother.

They were found in a dowdy section of Puerto Vallarta’s old town, far from the glitzy resorts, golf courses and high-rise hotels of the city’s newer section.

The street corner where they were found is dotted with a small sandwich shop, a taco stand and a corner shop.

A playground and a daycare centre with a fence topped with razor wire stand nearby.

Sheriff: #EthanCouch tried to change his appearance, but it obviously didn't work https://t.co/AV4usdfIGe pic.twitter.com/cKqgLeIq0V

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 29, 2015

Couch was apparently trying to lie low; a photo distributed by the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office shows him in detention with his blond hair dyed black and his normally blondish beard a light brown.

Mr Anderson has said he believes the two fled in late November after a video surfaced that appears to show Couch at a party where people were drinking. If found to be drinking, Couch’s probation could be revoked and he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

Couch was driving drunk and speeding on a dark two-lane road south of Fort Worth in June 2013 when he crashed into a disabled SUV off to the side, killing four people and injuring several others, including passengers in Couch’s pickup truck.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury.

Because of his age, he was not certified as an adult for trial and a judge sentenced him in juvenile court to 10 years’ probation and a stint in a rehabilitation centre.

Authorities had begun searching for the pair after Ethan Couch failed to keep a mandatory appointment with his probation officer on December 10, leading authorities to issue the juvenile equivalent of an arrest warrant for him.

The US Marshals Service had issued a wanted poster promising a reward of up to 5,000 dollars for information leading to Ethan Couch’s whereabouts and capture.