‘Affluenza’ teen taken to Texas juvenile detention

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – The Latest on “affluenza” teenager Ethan Couch’s deportation from Mexico (all times local):

1:10 p.m.

A Texas sheriff says “affluenza” teenager Ethan Couch has been transported to a juvenile detention center following his deportation from Mexico, but that he hopes the 18-year-old is transferred to an adult jail.

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson says Couch was taken to the detention center in Fort Worth on Thursday after arriving on a flight at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The sheriff says he was calm and his only request was for food.

A judge is scheduled to decide Friday whether Couch will continue to be held at the juvenile facility or be moved to an adult jail. He also could be released as prosecutors investigate whether he violated terms of his probation in a juvenile case stemming from his 2013 drunken-driving wreck that killed four people.

Anderson says he wants Couch held at an adult jail because of his age and the severity of his offenses.

The sheriff says Couch also will undergo a routine medical screening.

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12:15 p.m.

Authorities say “affluenza” teenager Ethan Couch will have to wait a day before facing his first court appearance in Texas following his deportation from Mexico.

Tarrant County Sheriff’s Deputy Ed Wiseman say the 18-year-old Couch is scheduled for a detention hearing on Friday in Fort Worth.

The judge will decide whether to continue to hold Couch at a juvenile facility, to book him in an adult jail or to let him go.

Authorities say Couch and his mother fled to Mexico last month, as Texas as prosecutors investigated whether he may have violated his probation in a 2013 drunken-driving wreck that killed four people. Couch was 16 at the time of the fatal wreck, so the case is being handled for now in juvenile court.

Couch was deported from Mexico and flown to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Thursday morning.

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11:05 a.m.

“Affluenza” teenager Ethan Couch has arrived in Texas after being deported from Mexico.

The 18-year-old arrived on a flight at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport late Thursday morning. He could be seen walking through the airport escorted by law enforcement.

Investigators believe Couch and his mother fled to Mexico in early December, as Texas prosecutors investigated whether he violated his probation in a 2013 drunken-driving wreck that killed four people.

Couch and his mother were apprehended on Dec. 28 in Puerto Vallarta.

His mother was quickly deported. Couch initially won a court-ordered delay, but his attorneys recently dropped the deportation fight, saying his rights were protected by Mexican authorities.

During Couch’s trial in the drunken-driving case, a defense expert argued that Couch had been coddled into a sense of irresponsibility by his wealthy parents, a condition the expert called “affluenza.”

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9 a.m.

The Mexican immigration institute says it has taken a Texas teenager who used an “affluenza” defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident to the Mexico City airport, to fly him back to Texas to face charges.

The institute said Thursday that Ethan Couch would be placed on a commercial flight to Dallas, Texas.

He formally ratified his decision to drop an appeal against deportation on Monday.

Couch and his mother, Tonya Couch, were detained in the resort of Puerto Vallarta in December. His mother was quickly sent back to the U.S. She was released after posting bail.

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