Before 'affluenza' case, teen's family tangled with the law
Source: Associated Press
Before 'affluenza' case, teen's family tangled with the law
Reese Dunklin, Associated Press
Updated 3:23 am, Friday, January 29, 2016
DALLAS (AP) — Ethan Couch was behind the wheel of a pickup truck, reeking of booze when police confronted him. He had no driver's license. Next to him was a passed-out, half-naked girl, and an open vodka bottle lay on the backseat floor.
Still, as one officer reported, the skinny, blond 15-year-old mouthed off as they questioned him. He said he had taken pre-law classes and knew what police could and couldn't do to him. The officer cautioned him about the perils of drinking and driving, according to court records obtained by The Associated Press.
"I spoke with him at some length about the various consequences of his driving and drinking," wrote Fort Worth, Texas, police officer W.E. Spakes, "such as effects on (his) driver's license and his path in life, especially DWI and even killing someone in a DWI."
Couch left that night in February 2013 with two citations and his mother, Tonya, who was called to the scene. Four months later, he drove drunk into a group of people helping a stranded motorist, killing four.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Before-affluenza-case-teen-s-family-tangled-6792210.php
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"Da rulz is for the little people..." 
