On Thursday morning, Mexican immigration agents loaded "affluenza teen" Ethan Couch into a truck and put him aboard a commercial flight to the U.S., where he is expected to face probation-violation charges.
In a video released by Mexico's immigration institute, an expressionless Couch is shown being led into a truck and placed on a plane at a Mexico City airport, surrounded by uniformed immigration officers.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Couch "landed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on an Aeromexico flight, and Tarrant County sheriff's deputies were expected to escort him to the county's juvenile detention center in North Fort Worth."
Couch and his mother, Tonya, were taken into custody last month in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta. Their capture ended a manhunt that began after Couch failed to keep an appointment with his probation officer. Just before that meeting, a video surfaced that purportedly showed Couch at a party where alcohol was being consumed. Drinking alcohol would violate the terms of his probation.
Couch and his mother were apprehended after they used a cellphone to order a pizza. Tonya Couch was deported two days later, but her son had been fighting against deportation. That fight ended Monday.
As the AP reports:
"Couch's Mexican lawyer, Fernando Benitez, said Tuesday that Ethan Couch formally ratified his decision to drop the appeal on Monday.
" 'I gave him several options, but he decided to go to Texas to face whatever charges he faces,' Benitez said."
Ethan Couch killed four people while driving drunk in 2013. He became infamous after his lawyers argued during the sentencing phase that Couch, who was 16 at the time, shouldn't be held responsible because his privileged upbringing had left him with "affluenza" and he was incapable of understanding the consequences of his actions.
He was placed on 10 years' probation.
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