'Affluenza' teen's pizza order ultimately led to his arrest

Ethan Couch's downfall was a Domino's Pizza order.

A police report from the Jalisco state prosecutors' office reveals that the Texas teen fugitive, whose lawyers famously used the defense of "affluenza" — that his family's wealth left him unable to tell right from wrong — against 2013 drunken-driving manslaughter charges, was located after authorities were able to track a phone call made by him or his mother, Tonya Couch.

The Couches reportedly used one of their phones to order pizza to a room at a condominium in the Mexican beach resort city of Puerto Vallarta, leading to a U.S. Marshals Service agent alerting authorities of the phone's location. While the Couches were not at that location when authorities arrived, authorities were able to discover their new location that night and arrest the mother and son.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Couches had fled to Mexico in early December to prevent Ethan from going to jail for violating his probation. Tonya is being charged with hindering apprehension and could face up to 10 years in prison. Ethan will be sent to juvenile lockup.