The Latest: 'Affluenza' teen's case moved to adult system
By Associated Press
Feb 19, 2016 10:10 AM CST
FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2016 file photo provided by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department, Ethan Couch, 18, appears in a booking photo, in Fort Worth, Texas. Couch, who used an "affluenza" defense in a deadly drunken-driving wreck, will appear at a hearing Friday, Feb. 19, 2016, over whether to transfer...   (Associated Press)

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The latest on the case of "affluenza" teenager Ethan Couch (all times local):

9:50 a.m.

A Texas judge says the case of a teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck will be moved to adult court.

Ethan Couch was 16 at the time of the 2013 crash that killed four people near Fort Worth. During his juvenile trial, a defense expert invoked the term "affluenza" while arguing Couch's wealthy parents had coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility.

The Friday ruling means the 18-year-old could face 120 days in jail, then finish his 10-year probation. If he violates his probation during that time, he could get up to 10 years in prison for each crash victim.

Couch and his mother disappeared in December, as prosecutors investigated whether he'd violated his probation. They were later found in Mexico and deported.

___

1 a.m.

A Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck is set to appear in court for a hearing over whether his case should be transferred to the adult system.

Eighteen-year-old Ethan Couch is due in court Friday in Fort Worth.

He could face up to 120 days in jail as part of the terms of adult probation. A ruling keeping him in the juvenile system could trigger hearings in which Couch could either go free or be sent to prison for 10 years when he turns 19.

Couch's attorney has said he won't challenge a transfer to adult court.

Authorities say Couch and his mother fled to Mexico in December, as prosecutors investigated whether he violated his probation in the 2013 wreck that killed four people.