‘Affluenza’ teen stays in Mexico; mom extradited

Associated Press

MEXICO CITY

The Texas teenager known for using an “affluenza” defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident likely won’t return to the U.S. anytime soon because of a Mexican judge’s decision to delay his deportation Wednesday, but a Mexico immigration official said his mother was being flown to Los Angeles.

Richard Hunter, chief deputy for the U.S. Marshals Service in South Texas, said during a news conference in Houston that a three-day court injunction granted to Ethan Couch likely will take at least two weeks to resolve.

Later in the day, however, the teen’s mother, Tonya Couch, was put on a plane to be flown from Guadalajara to Los Angeles, an official with Mexico’s National Immigration Institute told The Associated Press. The official said she would be turned over to U.S. marshals.

Ethan Couch was transported late Wednesday to Mexico City, the official said.