"Afluenza" Defense

[rockvillemom]

More on the extradition delay - from Yahoo news:

FORT WORTH/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Texas teenager, scorned for his “affluenza” defense in a deadly car crash, and his mother won a delay in extradition from Mexico on Wednesday where they fled as U.S. authorities investigated whether he had violated a probation deal that kept him out of prison.

Ethan Couch, 18, and his mother, 48-year-old Tonya Couch, were captured in the Mexican Pacific Coast city of Puerto Vallarta on Monday and had been due to be flown back to Houston accompanied by U.S. Marshals.

Ricardo Vera, a Mexican migration official in Jalisco state, said the pair had filed an injunction to delay their extradition and they would not be leaving on Wednesday. He said a judge in Mexico would have up to 72 hours to consider the injunction, and they could still be deported within two weeks depending on developments.

Just infuriating.

[tom1944]

post 252 yep

[rockvillemom]

And more detail from local ABC affiliate:

FORT WORTH — The deportation of Ethan Couch and his mother, Tonya, could take months, according to U.S. officials.

Both Ethan and Tonya Couch have filed a writ of amparo, which is a similar protection as America’s writ of habeas corpus, said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Hunter during a news conference Wednesday in Houston.

“We anticipate the deportation continuing,” Hunter said. “At this time, we don’t have a time frame. We don’t know if the Mexicans have the highest priority on this case like we do here in America. It’s on their time schedule. We’ve seen these things happen as quickly as two weeks to two months.”

According to Hunter, the pair were detained after authorities in the United States passed on an address to immigration officials in Mexico. The address was the suspected location of where the Couches were staying after an 11-day search for the 18 year old, who failed to show up for a meeting with his probation officer.

“An immigration agent that we contacted and gave the address to did what we call an ‘encounter’ with them,” Hunter said of what occurred once the Couches were located. “They were asked if they were Mexican citizens, of course they’re not. They were asked if they have proper documentation, they did not.”

Hunter said the Couches were taken into immigration custody and the agent determined they were subject to deportation.

“Upon hiring counsel, the amparo was filed,” he said. “Now it’s up to an immigration court to decide if the immigration agent’s decision was correct and has merit.”

The Couches are currently being held in Guadalajara.

Hunter said based on several signatures seen on the amparo, it appears the Couches hired several attorneys.

[katliamom]

Article says they’re “being held” – which I assume means in custody? Or will their attorneys claim these two are too spoiled to be able to handle a Mexican jail?

[romanigypsyeyes]

As long as they’re being held in a Mexican jail, I don’t mind a delay in processing

[Nrdsb4]

ABC news just stated that Ethan Couch is detained in a facility where he has to sleep on the floor. He has spent more time in custody in Mexico than he ever did in Texas. I think it would be great if this takes weeks or months. Let him rot.

Local news has just announced that his mother has in fact been “deported” to the US this evening. Details to follow.

[2019hope]

These people are truly astounding.

[Youdon_tsay]

I’m glad that they are separating mother and son. Let him go it alone in a Mexican jail for a while. Knowing that he’s alone in Mexico will be difficult on him.

[Iglooo]

What’s the ground holding him while deprting the mom?

[3scoutsmom]

Wait

Hunter said based on several signatures seen on the amparo, it appears the Couches hired several attorneys.

The parents couldn’t pay the rehab that they promised the court they’d pay because they couldn’t afford it but they can afford to hire “several lawyers?”

[rockvillemom]

Update from the ABC affiliate:

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.

FORT WORTH — Tonya Couch, the mother of fugitive teen Ethan Couch, has been deported to the United States, according to an Associated Press report citing a Mexican official.

According to the AP, the National Immigration Institute official said Tonya Couch left late Wednesday afternoon on a flight from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Los Angeles. The person was not authorized to discuss the case and revealed the information on condition of anonymity.

The official says she was sent home because immigration authorities did not receive a judge’s injunction like the one that temporarily blocked the deportation of her son. He remains in custody in Mexico.

Why does Ethan want to remain in Mexico? He prefers a Mexican prison to juvenile detention in the US?

[HarvestMoon1]

And where is the boy’s father in all of this? He seems to stay off the radar and I am wondering why. Certainly he should have some say in affairs affecting his own son. What is wrong with this guy? He needs to get involved. Seems like the mother is running the show and just making a mess of things. One fiasco after another.

[Nrdsb4]

He may be involved. Perhaps he is providing funds. Who knows? He may be wealthy, but he has not shown himself to have a strong moral compass either.

[DonnaL]

Yes, I was going to say that it’s pretty clear that the father is no prize himself.

[OspreyCV22]

That they were only required to pay $1200/mo. (child support) for son’s rehab implies to me that Fred’s take home salary is only about $180k per year. That’s estimating by my state’s Child Support table. I know the dad’s business nets $15 million but that doesn’t mean he earns a lot. He’s possibly lying on his financial disclosure forms to the court and hiding cash assets. I’ve been thinking that many of the national news reporters calling them rich make a lot more than this family.

So, who is more hated in America right now? The dentist who killed the lion or the kid who shows no remorse for mowing down four people and maiming two others?

[romanigypsyeyes]

The kid.

People have apparently mostly moved on from the lion slaughterer.

[jym626]

The dad would probably claim he could buy the prison, like he claimed he could buy the school when the kid ddrove himself at 14. Dad is … as a certain presidential candidate would say… a loser.

[ucbalumnus]

@OspreyCV22

So, who is more hated in America right now? The dentist who killed the lion or the kid who shows no remorse for mowing down four people and maiming two others?

Or the former hedge fund and drug company CEO who tried to buy up old generics where there was only one producer and greatly raise the price?

[BunsenBurner]

They are all absolutely disgusting!..

[OspreyCV22]

@jym626 "The dad would probably claim he could buy the prison, like he claimed he could buy the school when the kid drove himself at 14. Dad is … as a certain presidential candidate would say… a loser. "

According to the Dallas magazine article the esteemed psychologist who examined the family said the father seems to suffer from some anxiety disorder that causes him to be an angry a hole. He said the kid may have inherited the disorder.