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[h=4]'Affluenza' teen's mom deported, but he'll stay in Mexico[/h]She and her Mexican guards are on a flight to Los Angeles.
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The woman who helped Ethan Couch flee to the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta -- his mother, Tonya Couch -- was deported Wednesday evening.
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 — The Texas teen — known for his "affluenza" defense after he was given probation for killing four people in a 2013 drunken-driving crash will stay in Mexico for at least three more days, an official with the U.S. Marshals Service said Wednesday.
But the woman who helped Ethan Couch flee to the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta — his mother, Tonya Couch — was deported Wednesday evening, a Mexican official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case. She and her Mexican guards will land in Los Angeles.
Ethan Couch and his mother were apprehended Monday in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta. But a lawyer that they retained in Mexico filed paperwork Wednesday to try to fight extradition to the United States, according to the Tarrant County sheriff and district attorney.
An official with Mexico's Migration Institute said Ethan Couch was granted a three-day court injunction. Apparently, immigration officials did not receive the same type of injunction for Tonya Couch, so she was deported as soon as Mexican officials could buy a sufficient number of tickets to a U.S. destination.
Ethan Couch likely will be able to stay in Mexico for longer than the next three days because of the holidays, Richard Hunter, chief deputy U.S. Marshal for the southern district of Texas, said in a Wednesday press conference.
USA TODAY
Sheriff: Mom plotted 'affluenza' teen's escape
The Mexican judge's ruling could lead to a weeks-long legal process if a judge decides Ethan Couch has grounds to challenge his deportation based on arguments that kicking him out of Mexico would violate his rights. The judge has three days to consider Couch's appeal.
"In my experience, two weeks is a minimum," Hunter said of the pair's fighting extradition. "I don't anticipate this happening any time soon, but I could be proven wrong."
Ethan Couch now is in custody in Guadalajara in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Couch and his mother had been scheduled to return Wednesday to the United States after Mexican immigration officials were able to buy plane tickets — at that point they needed six to include immigration officials who would guard them on the flight — to Houston, Hunter said. He is hoping that delay in Ethan Couch's deportation could allow Mexican officials to purchase seats on a flight directly to Dallas.
"We don't know when they are coming," Hunter said before Tonya Couch's departure from Mexico. "We don't know when they will land."
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 that 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.
USA TODAY
FBI, U.S. Marshals join search for 'affluenza' teen
The consumption of alcohol would be a violation of the terms of his probation.
Anderson was not surprised that Ethan and Tonya Couch didn't return to Texas as originally 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"
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)
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 Dec. 20 to Dec. 23 at the Los Tules resort but were asked to leave because the condo's owner was coming in for Christmas.
While at the condo, they called out for pizza, which allowed police to discover their whereabouts. When police arrived 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.
While it's legal for U.S. citizens to cross the Mexican border on day trips, those who intend to stay for longer periods or go into the interior of the country must register, Hunter said. That was why Mexican officials initially sought to kick them out of the country.
USA TODAY
'Affluenza' teen's deposition gives insight into fatal crash
People in the neighborhood 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.
Ethan Couch, his hair darkened, also 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, who now also has a warrant issued for her arrest, could face two to 10 years in prison on charges of hindering prosecution.
USA TODAY
Dad of 'affluenza' teen accused of impersonating police
Ethan and Tonya Couch had a party in late November, fled across the Mexican border in her pickup truck and drove to 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 pickup.
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.
USA TODAY
Teen paralyzed in 'affluenza' case to receive millions
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, Tarrant County's district attorney, is asking that Ethan Couch's case be transferred to adult court. Ethan Couch then would face up to 120 days in an adult jail, followed by 10 years of probation.
Contributing: Todd Unger?, Jim Douglas, Lauren Zakalik and Jordan Armstrong, WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth; The Associated Press.
Related:
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'Affluenza' teen's family won't pay full rehab fee
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No jail for 'affluenza' teen in fatal crash draws outrage
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