Tonya Couch, the mother of the infamous affluenza-afflicted teen Ethan Couch, appeared in court today, where she faces charges of hindering the apprehension of her felon son. Mrs. Couch faces a sentence of up to ten years in prison, but her main complaint was the condition of her cell.
Ethan Couch killed four in a drunk driving accident when he was 16, but escaped jail time after his lawyers claimed he suffered from affluenza — the inability to tell right from wrong because of his wealthy upbringing. Couch was sentenced to 10 years probation.
After Ethan was caught on video violating his probation by playing beer pong, he escaped to Mexico with his mother. Tonya and Ethan Couch were arrested last month after authorities spotted them leaving their hotel room to pick up a pizza.
When Tonya appeared in court this week, she complained about the conditions of her cell, saying said that she was unable to sleep because the cell was too bright at night.
The judge was not at all sympathetic to her complaint. Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson told reporters that the judge shot down Couch’s complaints by telling the prisoner that “This is a jail, not a resort.”
Sheriff says #TonyaCouch complained abt jail accommodations. Too much light, she couldn't sleep. Says he told her- it's a jail, not a resort
— Dionne Anglin (@DAnglinFox4) January 8, 2016
Sheriff Anderson has been vocal about his displeasure with the Couches and the fact that Ethan avoided jail time.
After their arrest, Anderson posted a lengthy message on Facebook, where he apologized to the county for time, energy, and taxpayer money it took to apprehend Couch. Anderson also apologized to the victims who were failed by the justice system.
“I’ve had the satisfaction of saying ‘I told you so’ after two years ago predicting that the criminal justice system had not seen the last of Ethan Couch,” said Anderson. “For someone to have done something as horrible as he did to never show one moment of sorrow, regret or shame for what he did to four innocent people and their families, was a very good predictor of things to come.”
Although Tonya faces up to 10 years in prison, Ethan is only looking a maximum sentence of 120 days for violating his parole.
Featured image via the Chicago Tribune
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