Texas judge won’t revoke bond for mother of ‘affluenza’ teen
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tonya Couch, the mother of the so-called “affluenza teen”, leaves a hearing at Criminal District Court No. 2. A judge has declined to revoke bond for Couch after prosecutors said she carried a gun and drank alcohol. Judge Wayne Salvant urged Couch to “use common sense” pending trial on charges of hindering apprehension of a felon and money laundering.
FORT WORTH, Texas >> A Texas judge has declined to revoke bond for the mother of a teenager who used an “affluenza” defense regarding a fatal drunken-driving wreck after prosecutors said she carried a rifle and sipped beer.
Judge Wayne Salvant today urged Tonya Couch, who’s free on bond, to “use common sense” pending her trial on hindering apprehension of a felon and money laundering charges. Prosecutors wanted her returned to jail.
Witnesses testifying for prosecutors Thursday alleged Couch carried a rifle at a gun show over the weekend and sipped beer at a restaurant last month.
Ethan Couch is jailed for two years as a probation condition for the 2013 North Texas wreck that killed four. A psychologist at trial blamed “affluenza” or acting irresponsibly due to wealth for his actions.
The Couches fled to Mexico in 2015.
