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[h=4]'Affluenza' teen to stay in Mexico, for now[/h]Ethan Couch and his mother, Tonya, were scheduled to return to Houston on Wednesday.
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Authorities traced Ethan Couch and his mother to an apartment in Mexico after a call the two made to order pizza. VPC
Authorities apprehended the Texas teen and his mother in Puerto Vallarta, following an international manhunt.(Photo: Jalisco state prosecutor's office via AP)
FORT WORTH<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— The Texas teen —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>known for his "affluenza" defense after he was given probation for killing four people in a 2013 drunken-driving crash<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and his mother will not be returning to Texas on Wednesday as was previously scheduled.
Ethan Couch and his mother, Tonya, were apprehended in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta on Monday. According to the Tarrant County sheriff and district attorney, an attorney in Mexico<span style="color: Red;">*</span>filed paperwork Wednesday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to try to fight extradition to the United States. According to the Associated Press, an official with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mexico's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Migration Institute said Ethan Couch<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was granted a three-day court injunction.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he or she wasn't authorized to be quoted by name.
Couch and his mother were scheduled to be sent back to the U.S. on Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear whether<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his mother also would be granted a delay.
Couch had been missing officially since Dec. 10 when he failed to show up for a mandatory meeting with his probation officer. However, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Tuesday he believed that Couch, now 18, actually fled in late November with his mother after a video surfaced showing him at a party that included alcohol. The consumption of alcohol would be a violation of the terms of his probation.
USA TODAY
Sheriff: Mom plotted 'affluenza' teen's escape
Tarrant County officials originally expected Ethan Couch and his mother<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to return to Texas on Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.
Anderson is not surprised that Ethan and Tonya Couch are not returning to Texas as scheduled. In a tweet he wrote, "Is anyone surprised the Couch duo are putting up legal fight to not return and face justice? Not me. Will it never end? #EthanCouch"
Couch's disappearance triggered an international manhunt.
The Couches were traced to a shabby apartment four blocks from the beach in the Pacific coast resort city after using a phone to order a pizza.
According to a police report issued by the Jalisco state prosecutors' office, the Couches used one of their phones to order pizza in their room, ABC News reported. A U.S. Marshals Service agent tipped authorities in Mexico about the location of the phone Monday.
A police report said the pair stayed at the Los Tules resort from Dec. 20 to Dec. 23, but were asked to leave because the condo's owner was coming in for Christmas.
USA TODAY
FBI, U.S. Marshals join search for 'affluenza' teen
While at the condo, they called out for pizza, which tipped police off to their whereabouts. When police arrived on Dec. 28, the mother and son were gone.
An employee who found them an apartment in a less glitzy part of town told authorities where they were staying.
People in the neighborhood definitely noticed the arrival of Ethan Couch and his mother. They said it was unusual for someone in this part of the city not to speak Spanish; it's not clear whether Tonya Couch was fluent in the language.
This undated photo provided by the Jalisco state prosecutor's office shows Tonya Couch, mother of Ethan Couch.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Jalisco state prosecutor's office via AP)
Ethan Couch, his hair darkened, also<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was said to have regularly visited a corner store across the street from the apartment. He would eat in the back of the store by himself.
Tonya Couch could face two to 10 years in prison on charges of hindering prosecution.
Ethan and Tonya Couch had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a party in late November, fled across the Mexican border in her pickup truck and drove to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Puerto Vallarta, Anderson said. Sometime before they were apprehended, the teen dyed his strawberry blond hair a dark brown, and his mother cut her tresses shorter than photos that the U.S. Marshals Office were using in their wanted poster.
?In June 2013, Ethan Couch, then living in the Fort Worth suburb of Burleson, was driving drunk and speeding on a dark two-lane road south of the city when he crashed into a disabled SUV off to the side, killing four people and injuring several others, including passengers in the then-16-year-old's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pickup.
USA TODAY
'Affluenza' teen's deposition gives insight into fatal crash
He pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury. Because of his age, he wasn’t certified as an adult for trial and a judge sentenced him in juvenile court to 10 years’ probation and a stint in a rehabilitation center.
The case gained worldwide notoriety when the child's lawyers claimed that their client suffered from "affluenza" after his well-to-do parents shielded him from the consequences of his actions.
During the sentencing phase of his trial, Ethan Couch’s lawyers relied on a defense expert who argued that the teen's 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 the term drew widespread ridicule when it was employed.
Sharen Wilson,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tarrant County district attorney, is asking that Ethan Couch's case be transferred to adult court. Ethan<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Couch then<span style="color: Red;">*</span>would face up to 120 days in an adult jail, followed by 10 years of probation.
Contributing: Todd Unger?,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Jim Douglas, Lauren Zakalik and Jordan Armstrong, WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Associated Press.
Related:
USA TODAY
Dad of 'affluenza' teen accused of impersonating police
USA TODAY
Teen paralyzed in 'affluenza' case to receive millions
USA TODAY
'Affluenza' teen's family won't pay full rehab fee
USA TODAY
No jail for 'affluenza' teen in fatal crash draws outrage
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