‘Affluenza’ teen’s mom set for arraignment

Tonya Couch, mother of affluenza teen Ethan Couch, has reached the end of her trip which took her from Texas to Mexico, Mexico to Los Angeles, and then back to Texas where tomorrow she will be arraigned for helping her son flee his probation violation.

Tonya Couch’s attorneys released a statement last week saying she has done nothing illegal.

A warrant was issued for the teen when he disappeared after a video surfaced allegedly showing him at a party with alcohol.

The mother and son were arrested in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta late last month. But when she arrived, she told the judge she had concerns about the sheriff talking to Couch about the case without her legal counsel present.

Couch, wearing a yellow jail jump suit, told the court she did not have a passport because it was not returned to her when she was deported from Mexico.

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Tonya Couch was “quiet, reserved, respectful” on the ride from DFW to the jail in downtown Fort Worth.

Couch, 48, appeared before State District Judge Wayne Salvant, who conducted the very brief arraignment.

Anderson said he opposed a bond reduction because Couch is “a woman with means who can get out of the country with the right connections”. Tarrant County prosecutors said they are looking at additional charges that could keep him in custody longer.

Ethan, who has filed paperwork to stay in Mexico, was sentenced in Tarrant County to 10 years of drink- and drug-free probation, which critics saw as leniency because of his family’s wealth, which comes from a metal works business. “We wait, we will be here”, Sheriff Anderson said.

In 2013, Ethan Couch, 16, was driving drunk when he crashed his truck, killing four people and seriously injuring others.

On Thursday, officials took Couch to the Tarrant County Lon Evans Correction Center after she arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on a flight from Los Angeles.

“I think we will feel better about her being closely monitored rather than being set loose without any restrictions at all”.

Patten also said that Couch’s bail was way too high.