The infamous “affluenza” teen and his mother had a gun with them as they hid out in a Mexico resort, two staff at a Puerto Vallarta hotel told Reuters.
Ethan Couch and his mother Tonya were caught Monday in Puerto Vallarta after skipping the country amid the 18-year-old’s probation violations. Couch was on 10 years of probation after successfully invoking an “affluenza” defense while on trial for a 2013 drunken-driving crash that killed four people.
The two left a gun in a drawer at the Los Tules hotel after changing rooms during their Dec. 20-25 stay, the hotel staffers told Reuters.
The staff said the black and silver revolver was returned to the pair. The Couches paid in cash and had aimed to stay longer, but the rooms they wanted were all booked up after Christmas, the staff added.
The Couches were later captured at a nearby apartment.
NBC News has not independently confirmed a gun was found. The Tarrant County, Texas, District Attorney’s office told NBC News it is looking into the report of a gun. Ethan Couch remains in Mexico in an immigration facility in Mexico City after a judge issued an injunction temporarily blocking his deportation, officials said. Tonya Couch was deported to the United States and currently is in custody Los Angeles. She is scheduled for an initial hearing Jan. 14 in Tarrant County Magistrate’s Court on a charge of hindering an apprehension for allegedly helping her son escape. If she’s convicted of the felony count, she could face two to 10 years in prison, officials said.
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