Ethan Couch has been released a day after his arrest for a weak positive drug test result.
Ethan Couch infamously known as Affluenza Teen was arrested on Thursday following a weak positive drug test. Tarrant County authorities said that Ethan violated the terms of his probation period by failing a drug test. He was released a day after owing to the further investigations to know if Couch has used drugs or the patch was triggered by CBD oil.
The 22-year-old American citizen was arrested following drunk and drive where he killed 4 people on June 15, 2013, in a car crash under the influence of marijuana and Valium, when he was just 16. Couch’s blood alcohol content was 0.24%, which is three times the limit for the legal age, and he was going about 70 mph in a 40 mph zone when he lost control of the pickup, authorities had said.
He avoided prison following an initial conviction where his lawyer defended that he was suffering from affluenza and should be sent to rehabilitation instead of prison. In the trial, a psychologist testified that 16-year-old Ethan was affected by affluenza; it is psychological state supposedly affecting the wealthy young people which contributes to lack of boundaries and responsibilities, guilt, sense of isolation etc. He was sentenced 10 years of probation followed by therapy at a long-term in-patient facility.
Picture: AP
However, he was sentenced 2 years in prison in 2016 when his probation officer couldn’t contact him and his whereabouts weren’t known in 2015. He was detained in Jalisco, Mexico, where he had fled with his mother.
He was on the radar again on this Thursday when his probation officer reported that a drug monitoring patch, he wears returned a “weak positive” result for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. However, there is a possibility that the patch was triggered by legal CBD oil and it needs further testing to be absolute.
Couch’s lawyers said they are optimistic the tests will verify he did not use a prohibited substance. Attorneys Scott Brown and Reagan Wynn said in a statement that Ethan is committed to his sobriety and to remaining compliant with all of the terms and conditions imposed by the court on him.