Tarrant County DA declines to revoke probation, ‘affluenza teen’ Ethan Couch released from jail

FORT WORTH, Texas - Ethan Couch, who used an “affluenza” defense in a fatal drunken-driving crash, was released from jail on Friday after the district attorney's office said there's questions about the results of a drug test.

Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson did not accept a motion from the probation office to revoke his probation because of a “weak positive” THC result, the DA's office said Friday.

"Until final testing, we cannot tell if the patch result was actually THC. We cannot tell whether the 'weak positive' was caused by legal CBD oil or illegal marijuana," Wilson said in a statement.

The head of probation wanted Couch brought in to amend the conditions of his probation. Wilson, in her statement, referred to the head of county community supervision for Criminal District Court 2.

"She wanted to include a condition that Couch not shave his head. Her plan was to allow his hair to grow to the point at which a follicle test could be conducted for confirmation of drug use. The defendant has denied any marijuana use to his field officer," Wilson said.

A motion to revoke probation would be filed if test results become conclusive, Wilson said.

Couch was arrested Thursday and booked into the Tarrant County jail for a probation violation. Court records stated the 22-year-old tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Couch was 16 years old when he killed four people in a 2013 drunken-driving crash and was sentenced to just 10 years of probation.

His defense attorney at the time successfully argued he suffered from “affluenza” and did not know right from wrong because of his wealthy upbringing.

Couch did serve two years in jail as an adult for a previous probation violation.

But in 2015, video surfaced that appeared to show Couch violating his probation by playing beer pong at a party. He and his mother, Tonya, fled to Mexico. But after nearly a month on the run, they were tracked down by authorities and returned to Tarrant County.

His case was moved to the adult court system when he turned 19 in 2016. A Tarrant County judge gave him the two-year jail sentence – 180 days for each victim.

When Couch was released from jail in 2018, one of the conditions of his probation was drug and alcohol testing. He has four years remaining on his 10-year probation sentence.