On a trial in Texas, Ethan Couch, the teen who avoided jail after killing four people while driving drunk on an “Affluenza” defense and predicated on his ability to not recognize the right from wrong things because he was spoiled by his parents as a rich youth, will now spend nearly two years in jail.
This Wednesday he was under judgment, where he was given four consecutive 180-day jail terms, each one for every victim he killed back in June 2013 on his drunk-driving accident. The defense disagreed on the sentence, arguing that the case should be treated the way it was in juvenile court.
State District Judge Wayne Salvant said to Ethan back on the trail that he is “not getting out of jail today”. Couch recently turned 19 this Monday, and he has received 10 years of probation in juvenile court after the crash incident, where his lawyer used the “Affluenza” defensive move to avoid jail time for Couch, but now no “Affluenza” can get him out for a long time.
Smells like teen Trouble
Couch violated the terms of his probation being recorded on a video of him partying and involving alcohol, he later fled to Mexico with his mother to skip jail time, evading the arrest for several weeks on a Mexican resort, but 11 days later the Mexican law enforcement officials held him to their Texans counterparts.
This Wednesday was Ethan first appearance in adult court, and his mother Tonya watched from the gallery, where the case started on a juvenile court, but it was recently transferred to a “big boy” jail.
Ethan Couch’s mother Tonya has been charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon by having arranged the escape of his son to Mexico, where she could face up to ten years in prison due to that.
Right after serving out his sentence, Couch will also have to finish the 10-year probation he had on the juvenile court. What are the terms? The terms remain the same, being them not drinking, not doing drugs and no driving.
Also, he must prove with any blood, urine and breathalyzer tests that he is sticking to the terms. Additionally, if Couch seeks to leave the nearby counties, he would need to obtain permission first and if Couch violated his probation as an adult, he could be sent to prison for up to 40 years – 10 years for each person he killed in 2013.
Source: Star Telegram