In this photo provided by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department, Ethan Couch appears in a booking photo on February 5, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck was transferred to an adult jail on Friday, a week after a judge initially refused to do so.(Photo: AP)
FORT WORTH — <span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Texas teen<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>known for his<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"affluenza" defense<span style="color: Red;">*</span>when he was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>given probation for killing four people<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in a 2013 drunken-driving crash<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was quietly moved from a juvenile
detention to an adult jail facility Friday afternoon.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
Juvenile Court Judge Tim Menikos told attorneys Friday morning he was moving Ethan Couch, 18, to the Tarrant County jail's maximum security unit. <span style="color: Red;">*</span>Even Sheriff Dee Anderson<span style="color: Red;">*</span>wasn't told of the transfer until just before he arrived at the unit at about 1:30 p.m.
"He is still under all the juvenile law restrictions, all that,” Anderson said in a late afternoon press conference.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> “He is held without bond. He cannot post bond as a juvenile."
Sheriff Anderson said Couch was processed individually as a high-profile prisoner and then placed in a single-cell for his own protection.
"Obviously, the big concern with him is that someone in the jail inmate system might want to harm him,” Anderson said.
In juvenile detention, Couch shared space with other detainees, some much younger, and many much bigger.
USA TODAY
Dad Of Victim: 'Affluenza' Teen Never Apologized
Couch is notorious nationwide as the “affluenza” teen. A psychologist used the phrase to help explain Couch’s behavior the night he drove drunk and killed four people.
Anderson said special efforts are being made to protect him from other inmates.
"He's getting ready to be 19,” the sheriff said. "He's an adult. He doesn't need to be housed in a juvenile detention facility. That's my opinion."
Prosecutors asked the judge to transfer Couch to adult jail last week.
Attorneys say Couch will be in juvenile court again on February 19. It's expected at that time the judge will transfer the case to adult supervision upon Couch’s 19th birthday in April.
Couch is serving 10 years probation.
Powered By WizardRSS.com |
Full Text RSS Feed
