'Affluenza' Teen Ethan Couch to Stay at Juvenile Facility for Now

The teen and his mom were found in Mexico last month.

ByABC News
January 29, 2016, 12:04 PM

— -- "Affluenza" teen Ethan Couch will stay for now at a Texas juvenile facility until a judge decides what to do with him. Ethan arrived in Texas yesterday following his arrest in Mexico a month ago.

Couch, who wore a tan jumpsuit, made a brief appearance at court this morning.

A representative for the District Attorney said the judge will decide to either transfer Couch to adult jail or keep him at the juvenile facility. A decision will likely be made later today.

PHOTO: Tarrant County sheriff deputy Brian Nickelson stands guard outside the juvenile court where Ethan Couch has a detention hearing in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 29, 2016.
Tarrant County sheriff deputy Brian Nickelson stands guard outside the juvenile court where Ethan Couch has a detention hearing in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 29, 2016.

After the detention hearing, one of Couch's lawyers, Scott Brown, said that Couch will stay at the juvenile facility unless a judge decides otherwise.

Brown said that Couch was remorseful. It appeared that the attorney was referring to the victims.

Brown also said that he's hopeful his client will abide by his probation.

Tarrant County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Richard Alpert said after the hearing that his office is seeking to have Couch transferred to the adult system. A judge can make that decision at any point.

Alpert said Couch has never apologized to the victims and said he will continue to work to bring justice for the victims.

Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson told ABC News in a statement, “Ethan Couch is locked up. Rest assured that in the days and months ahead we will do everything we can under the law to hold him accountable for what he’s done, realizing that we will always be limited by the juvenile judge’s sentence of a 10 year probation in 2014."

She continued: "Remember Hollie and Shelby Boyles, Brian Jennings and Breanna Mitchell, and the lives they’ll never have. Remember Sergio Molina, Lucas McConnell, Isaiah McLaughlin and Soloman Mohmand, who continue to deal every day with their injuries from the crash. Remember all of their families. Behind every incident are the victims, and this should be their story.”

PHOTO: Tim McLaughlin, center, father of Isaiah McLaughlin who was involved in a 2013 drunk driving accident caused by Ethan Couch, arrives for a juvenile court hearing for Couch in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 29, 2016.
Tim McLaughlin, center, father of Isaiah McLaughlin who was involved in a 2013 drunk driving accident caused by Ethan Couch, arrives for a juvenile court hearing for Couch in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 29, 2016. Note: The original caption provided by the Associated Press misreported that Isaiah McLaughlin was killed in the accident.

The attorneys representing Couch have said they expect he will "comply with all court-imposed terms" and "successfully complete his term of probation."

"Now that Ethan is back in Tarrant County and will be personally present in court at the upcoming hearing on the State’s Motion to Transfer, we anticipate that the court will lawfully transfer his probation to an appropriate Tarrant County District Court with adult criminal jurisdiction," Brown and Wm. Reagan Wynn said in a statement released to ABC News Thursday. "Under the law, the transfer will become effective upon Ethan’s nineteenth birthday in April."

"We are optimistic that, going forward, Ethan will comply with all court-imposed terms and conditions and that he will successfully complete his term of probation," the statement said.

Ethan and his mother Tonya Couch sparked an international manhunt after he allegedly failed to appear at a court-mandated meeting with a probation officer.

Ethan Couch was put on probation in 2013 after killing four people while driving drunk.

During Ethan's sentencing in the drunken-driving trial, a psychologist hired by the defense testified that the teen was a product of "affluenza" -- a term he used to describe Ethan's irresponsible lifestyle associated with his affluent upbringing.

Ethan had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit on the night of the crash.

ABC News' Meghan Keneally contributed to this report.

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