Authorities fear 'affluenza teen' on the run may have fled US
The Texas sheriff hunting for the "affluenza teen", who is missing after violating his probation, says it's about time someone treated the spoiled teen like an adult.
The Tarrants County sheriff's department has been looking for Ethan Couch since he disappeared December 11th, when he missed a probation meeting.
A spokesperson for the sheriff's department said, "Any mess-ups from now on, he's going to be over with us. He's going to see what the big-boy jail is like."
See photos of Couch from trial:
Authorities fear that Couch may have fled the U.S, according to The Dallas Morning News.
"With the wealth and the wherewithal that his family has, it's going to be a tough assignment for us to find him," Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said.
When found, police hope the teen will face the charges as an adult.
Couch was let off by a juvenile judge after the teen killed four people in a DUI crash. His defense argued the teen suffered from "affluenza," meaning he couldn't understand the repercussions of his actions because of his financial privilege.
A judge sentenced Couch to rehab and 10 years of drug-and-alcohol-free probation instead of jail. A video surfaced on Twitter earlier December that showed a teen strongly resembling Couch playing beer pong, which, if true, would be a violation of court orders.
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