Ethan Couch, 'affluenza' teen, could be free from jail by April 2016

Ethan Couch and his mother, Tonya, were arrested in Mexico on Dec. 28
(Image credit: AP/YouTube)

After a Twitter user posted a video in late November purporting to show Ethan Couch violating the terms of his probation by drinking at party, Couch and his mother, Tonya Couch, threw what amounted to a going-away party, jumped in their pickup truck, disposed of their identification documents, changed their appearances, and drove from the Fort Worth area to Mexico to prevent Ethan Couch from possibly being sent to jail, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Law enforcement in Texas and Mexico began a hunt for Couch, 18, and after getting a lead last Thursday, Anderson said, U.S. Marshals tracked Couch and his mother to an apartment in Puerto Vallarta, where Mexican police arrested them on Monday for being in the country illegally. They will be flown back to Texas on Wednesday, Couch will be sent to juvenile lockup, and Tonya Couch, 48, will be charged with hindering apprehension, which could send her to prison for two to 10 years.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.