'Affluenza' Mom in L.A. Jail

The woman who fled to Mexico with her son, who is wanted for a probation violation in the so-called “Affluenza case,” was flown to Los Angeles overnight and turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department, authorities said.

Tonya Couch, 38, was deported from Mexico and escorted by U.S. Marshals, said Dave Oney of the U.S. Marshal Service. She was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center at 1:37 a.m. and was being held with no bail, according to the sheriff’s department, which runs L.A. County’s jails.

Couch will stay in the jail until deputies from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department in Texas come to get her, said Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section.

Couch and her 18-year-old son, Ethan, were arrested in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Monday in connection with Ethan Couch’s alleged probation violation in a drunk-driving case. He missed a required check-in with Texas authorities earlier this month.

Ethan Couch has been granted a stay in his deportation case while the legal process in Mexico runs its course, according to his Texas attorneys.

During his 2013 drunk driving trial, a defense witness testified Ethan was afflicted with “affluenza,” meaning his affluent upbringing and dysfunctional parents caused his irresponsible behavior and lifestyle.

-City News Service

Photo: Tonya and Ethan Couch via Tarrant County Police