Mexican authorities have detained Ethan Couch and his mother, Tonya, in the beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, reports the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Couch, 18, had been on the run since missing an appointment with his probation officer this month, a violation of a 10-year-probation sentence he received for drunkenly killing four people in 2013. The Tarrant County Sheriff's Department's fugitive unit started searching for Ethan Couch on Dec. 16 after his probation officer found the home he rented with his mother, 48, empty.
Judge Jean Boyd said last year that her decision to put Couch on probation had nothing to do with the comment made by a psychologist during testimony on Couch’s behalf about his supposed “affluenza” psychological problems based on his family’s wealth. In the 2013 crash, Couch had been speeding in a pickup with seven teenage passengers when he veered off the road, clipped an SUV and smashed into its driver and three other people. He had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit and had traces of Valium in his system.