Former 'Affluenza Teen' Ethan Couch Arrested

He's accused of violating probation
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 3, 2020 2:53 AM CST
Former 'Affluenza Teen' Ethan Couch Arrested
This Feb. 5, 2016, file booking photo, provided by the Tarrant County, Texas, Sheriff's Office shows Ethan Couch.   (Tarrant County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Ethan Couch is now 22 years old, but he may never be able to shake the title of "affluenza teen"—especially not if he keeps getting arrested. Couch, who was 16 and driving drunk when he killed four pedestrians in 2013, was arrested in Texas Thursday for a probation violation and is being held without bail, CNN reports. Authorities say Couch tested positive for THC, the pyschoactive compound found in marijuana. Couch was sentenced to probation instead of jail time for the 2013 crash after a psychologist testified that his wealthy upbringing had caused "affluenza"—a failure to understand the consequences of his actions because of his privilege. He was later sentenced to 720 days in jail after fleeing to Mexico with his mother following a probation violation in 2015.

Couch, who was released from jail in April 2018, tested positive during a mandatory "Substance Abuse Test Patch" screening that was part of his probation, ABC reports. He "has been intensely monitored for alcohol and illegal substance use, including constantly wearing the required patch, for more than 20 months and has never been been positive for the use of any substance before," his attorneys said in a statement Thursday. "We cannot make any further statement until we have the opportunity to conduct an investigation to determine if, in fact, Ethan ingested THC and, if so, if it was a voluntary act on his part." (More Ethan Couch stories.)

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