Ethan Couch: Warrant For Texas Affluenza Teen’s Arrest Issued — Will He Serve Prison Time For The 4 DUI Deaths?


Texas police have issued the so-called “affluenza teen” Ethan Couch a warrant for his arrest after the young man skipped out on his probation officer. Couch managed to avoid a jail sentence after he killed four people while driving drunk, but he was put on probation for many years, where he is not supposed to consume alcohol. It is possible that Couch was busted on Twitter recently when he was allegedly spotted playing beer pong, but the lawyer for the Texas affluenza teen is uncertain why Couch dropped out of contact.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, attorneys Reagan Wynn and Scott Brown managed to save their client from serving up to 20 years in prison by labeling him the affluenza teen. At the time, Wynn argued that the teen was raised in a wealthy, privileged home, and these lack of boundaries allegedly stunted Couch’s emotional growth, maturity, and ability to make reasonable decisions.

The then-16-year-old boy had a blood alcohol reading three times the legal limit in Texas, but Wynn argued the decision of the juvenile court judge was fair.

“She heard all the evidence and she made what she thought was the appropriate disposition,” Wynn said at the time. “I think he can be rehabilitated given intensive therapy and I hope that he gets it … The juvenile system is about rehabilitation … she (Boyd) absolutely made the right decision.”

Psychologist Dr. G. Dick Miller was the person who invented the condition “affluenza” while defending the teen in court.

“The teen never learned to say that you’re sorry if you hurt someone,” Dr. Miller explained. “If you hurt someone, you sent him money.”

The affluenza teen’s father, millionaire sheet metal manufacturer Fred Couch, has been paying quite a hefty bill for this rehab process. Reports say it is costing them close to $500,000 per year, but now it is being questioned whether it’s working at all.

A 21-year-old woman named Hannah Hardee spotted a video of Ethan Couch apparently violating the conditions of his probation. The short video shows Couch clapping and laughing during a beer pong game, so some assume this meant Couch was drinking alcohol, as well. This apparent violation made Hardee angry enough that she saved the video and made sure to spread it on Twitter.

“It was just making me mad that they were not taking any of this seriously,” Hardee said. “And after seeing the interviews with the victims’ families and stuff, it just really gets to me.”

Juvenile court prosecutor Riley Shaw is currently investigating the party and asking witnesses to come forward to testify about whether or not the now 18-year-old man was drinking alcohol. But the investigation may be stymied by the fact that the man has gone missing.

In response to Ethan Couch’s warrant, his lawyers released a statement saying that the probation officer has been unable to contact Ethan or Fred Couch’s ex-wife, Tonya. According to WFAA, Mr. Couch did not know the location of his son or his ex-wife.

“We have recently learned that, for the last several days, the juvenile probation officer has been unable to make contact with Ethan or his mother with whom he has been residing,” the statement from the lawyers said. “It is our understanding that the Court has issued a directive to apprehend to have Ethan detained because he is out of contact with his probation officer. We do not have any further information concerning this situation. Accordingly, it would not be appropriate for us to publicly discuss this matter further at this time.”

Prior to Ethan Couch’s warrant, prosecutors had already filed a motion to transfer the man to adult court for the remainder of his probation. If the so-called affluenza teen is found to have violated the term of his probation, he could spend up to 10 years in prison.

Ethan Couch
[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
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