"Affluenza" is now a legitimate defense claim.

cornflake said:

Not only is it crap pizza pretty much anyplace, but they were in Mexico. I'm fairly certain there's like, mexican food to be had.

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Maybe he's got celiac disease. My wife's tried a bunch and says Domino's has the best gluten-free pizza out there.

It just occurred to me that if he's not moved to adult court, and thus they could only hold him until April, the delaying may be trying to get them to April.

robeiae said:

Or as they call it in Mexico, food.

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There's food in America, too, but that hasn't stopped Americans here from ordering from Domino's.

cornflake said:

It just occurred to me that if he's not moved to adult court, and thus they could only hold him until April, the delaying may be trying to get them to April.

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Maybe, but he's still in jail. They can bribe anyone they want but they're still in jail.

I suspect they're tossing money around to see if they can cut a deal so Momma doesn't get charged with anything. Now that her little boy's going to likely go scott free unless the system gets their act together, she's not going to want to spend a second longer behind bars than she needs to.

I don't know where he's being held - an immigration facility, a local jail, dunno. However, I don't put it past him to think that he can more easily either escape a Mexican facility or bribe his way into luxury if he's held in one.

I think she'll try to take time, to say it was all her idea, and sonny boy is totally innocent. She'll leap on that sword.

Well, this is the longest he's spent in jail so far...

cornflake said:

I don't know where he's being held - an immigration facility, a local jail, dunno. However, I don't put it past him to think that he can more easily either escape a Mexican facility or bribe his way into luxury if he's held in one.

I think she'll try to take time, to say it was all her idea, and sonny boy is totally innocent. She'll leap on that sword.

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I believe the last report said he was in Mexico City, in an immigration facility. He'll have a hard time bribing his way out of that one, given that he's a high-profile visitor. He might be able to buy some nice toys and maybe not end up sleeping on the floor, but he's not going to break out.

Reports say he's trying to bide his time until April when he won't have to spend any time in the US system because he'll turn nineteen. Not sure how that all works, but it's obvious to ME that we'll hear from him again no matter what happens here. The punk still think the world revolves around him and what he wants and that's not going to change.

Yeah that was what occurred to me yesterday - if they can move the case to adult court, he can (I think; Mark would know) be remanded or put on a longer probation. If they can't move it, he can't be held past 19.

Generally, immigration facilities are at least somewhat better, and with fewer criminals.

cornflake said:

Yeah that was what occurred to me yesterday - if they can move the case to adult court, he can (I think; Mark would know) be remanded or put on a longer probation. If they can't move it, he can't be held past 19.

Generally, immigration facilities are at least somewhat better, and with fewer criminals.

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Just remember that Mark can only talk in generalities. I know you know Corny, some may not.

Yah, I just meant he could, were he so inclined, explain the basic Texas rules regarding adult/juvenile court responses to something like this.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/31/us/affluenza-teens-mother-back-in-u-s-/index.html

Tonya Couch, the mother of "affluenza" teen Ethan Couch is back in the United States and has been charged in Texas with hindering the apprehension of a felon...

Texas prosecutors charged Tonya Couch and set bail at $1 million, Tarrant County district attorney spokeswoman Samantha Jordan told CNN.

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Some people might say that bail is set extremely high, but given that she's already demonstrated a willingness to flee the country....

Come to think of it, doesn't leaving the country while on probation come with it's own punishments? Besides just having the probation revoked?

ShaunHorton said:

Some people might say that bail is set extremely high, but given that she's already demonstrated a willingness to flee the country....

Come to think of it, doesn't leaving the country while on probation come with it's own punishments? Besides just having the probation revoked?

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I don't think there is a separate charge. It is considered a technical violation of probation, in that no new crime has been committed (as far as I know). If he used a false name, that might be a new charge.

The NBC Nightly News reported tonight they had a gun with them - which might actually be a bit more trouble for him. Both here and with Mexican authorities.

clintl said:

The NBC Nightly News reported tonight they had a gun with them - which might actually be a bit more trouble for him. Both here and with Mexican authorities.

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I'm just waiting for the first Mexican official who says, "When the US sends their people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists."

This family is a horror show, but at least they provide entertainment value.

Ethan Couch spent most of his time in their room, but he went out one night to a gentleman’s club.

That in itself wasn’t unusual. “A young man going to a men’s club? How normal is that?” Meza said.

Then a waiter and manager from the club came back with him to the hotel because he didn’t have enough money to pay his bar tab. Meza had to wake Tonya Couch to come downstairs and cover the bill before the club employees would leave...

Because they wanted to extend their stay and the hotel needed their ground-floor room for a disabled woman, the hotel employees say, they moved the Couches to another room.

The new guests found a gun inside the nightstand, the employees say. They immediately called the hotel and an employee picked up the gun and wrapped it inside a bathroom carpet and put it in a plastic bag, the employees say.

An official with the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to ABC News they received a photo of the gun found at the hotel from a hotel employee.

The next day, the hotel workers said, after being asked whether he had forgotten anything in the room, Ethan Couch retrieved up the gun without offering any explanation for its presence.

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"Affluenza" teen may delay deportation with human rights law:

Lawyers for a Texas teen who cited "affluenza" as a defense in a deadly drunken-driving wreck may be attempting to stall his deportation to the United States by claiming that Mexican authorities violated his human rights, according to legal experts.

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Guess who's back?

That's right. Ethan Couch stopped fighting extradition and allowed himself to be deported to the US.

I'm guessing his lawyer suggested that taking some responsibility for his actions by returning would play better with the courts than dragging things out.

Here's an update on one of the victims from the original drunk driving incident: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/...than-couch-speaks-out-weve-been-in-hell.html/

But since he became a victim of Ethan Couch’s drunken driving, 18-year-old Sergio Molina has been paralyzed and requires around-the-clock care.

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After the hearing, her oldest son, Alex Lemus, stood with his brother in front of TV cameras and made a compelling argument for why the news media should pay attention to his family – not the Couches.

“What you see here today, this is my brother,” he said, referring to Molina, who sat passive in a wheelchair. “Take a look. Y’all ain’t even gone to my house yet. You haven’t been to my house to see … every day what we have to do with my brother in order for him to stay stable like this. Alive. Breathing.”

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I have to agree with big brother. The focus should be on the people who were impacted, not the other way around.


Couch's case has been moved to adult court: http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/201...a-teen-ethan-couchs-case-to-adult-court.html/

He's still only on probation, with the threat of "stiffer" penalties if he breaks probation again.

Cyia said:

He's still only on probation, with the threat of "stiffer" penalties if he breaks probation again.

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Ugh. Really? As if fleeing the country doesn't suggest he might try to flee the country...

Cyia said:

The focus should be on the people who were impacted, not the other way around.

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Media attention and public outcry can help in cases like these.

Rich enough for "affluenza." Too poor to pay for rehab.

That's right. The taxpayers picked up a good chunk of the bill.

I hope the reason his parents couldn't afford to pay for his rehab stay was because his victims and their families got it all in the civil suits.

There have been multiple lawsuits--around six, I think--and some have been settled. Like this one. Wikipedia says they all have now been settled, actually. But I think the family had the money, still.

This isn't a knew thing. The fact that the State was picking up most of this tab came out two years ago: http://mobile.wnd.com/2014/04/outrage-erupts-over-tax-subsidies-for-affluenza-convict/

As the article notes, the family was willing to pay $400k for rehab at a private facility at one point in time. I would guess that they used the civil suits to justify not paying. Also, it appears the father's business has closed and I believe he was arrested for something, as well.

Most recently, Police were called to the dad's house on reports he had attacked his girlfriend, who had obvious marks when they arrived, but refused to cooperate with officers.

He had a hearing in March, stemming from a charge in 2014 of impersonating a LEO, but I didn't see where that went.

UPDATE: The dweeb just got two years in jail for violating his probation deal. Not only is this family entitled, they're also phenomenally stooooopid. A judge seems finally to recognize that.

caw