Like mother like son: Police say mom of ‘affluenza teen’ busted for boozing while on probation
by

Prosecutors filed a motion on Tuesday in Tarrant County, Texas, against the mother of the infamous “affluenza teen,” after she reportedly violated her probation, which requires her to avoid alcohol consumption—the same reason her son fled to Mexico in 2015 after violating his own probation.

Star-Telegram reports that Tonya Couch, who’s on probation for helping her son flee the country to avoid probation violation consequences,“failed to abstain from the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages.”

Part of her bond release and probation conditions included no consumption from alcohol until the successful conclusion of her trial, scheduled to start in October. Tonya Couch is on bond following a December 2015 incident in which she allegedly took $30,000 from her former husband’s bank account and fled with her son to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico.

After Tonya Couch was spotted at the Honky Tonk Woman Saloon in Azle, Texas, consuming alcohol, shortly after a judge released her from house arrest. Although the judge granted her permission to work at the bar, her probation terms of avoiding alcohol consumption were still in place.

Ethan Couch, her son, killed four people and injured numerous others while drinking and driving in Tarrant County, Texas, in 2013. A judge gave him probation and rehabilitation after a psychologist testified that the then-teen suffered from affluenza, a term defining a person who grew up in a wealthy environment and didn’t have the same rules and consequences as the rest of society. The light punishment sparked national outrage, especially after the judge gave another teen who committed a similar crime over 10 years in prison.

Part of Couch’s 10-year-probation sentence included refraining from alcohol. In December 2015, after a video surfaced online that showed him playing beer pong with a group of other teens, he fled the country to avoid prosecution. Weeks later, authorities found both Tonya and Ethan Couch in Mexico. Ethan has since been in jail, serving a nearly two-year sentence, despite an unsuccessful attempt to get early release.

It’s still unclear if Tonya Couch will be taken back to jail. Prosecutors are awaiting a judge’s decision, which could happen at any minuted. Check back with Crime Online as additional details become available.

[Feature Photo: Tarrant County Jail]