Sources: 'Affluenza' Teen Drank at Strip Club in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

Source: ABC News

Sources: 'Affluenza' Teen Drank at Strip Club in Mexico
By Meghan Keneally
·Jan 5, 2016, 4:03 PM ET

Before he was detained by Mexican authorities, "affluenza" teen Ethan Couch went to a Mexican strip club and racked up a huge tab, employees at the club tell ABC News.

Sources say Ethan Couch and his mother Tonya went to a strip club called Harem in Puerto Vallarta on the night of Dec. 23. According to club employees, the pair had drinks before Tonya Couch left the club. Ethan stayed at the club and employees told ABC News that he went off to a VIP room with two women who worked at Harem. Hotel and club employees said Couch was extremely drunk.

Couch racked up a $1,000 tab with entertainment that included lap dances and drinks, according to club employees, but was 6,000 pesos ($345) short. In the early hours of Dec. 24, sources tell ABC News that a waiter at the club escorted Couch to his hotel when he could not pay the bill.

Neither Ethan nor Tonya Couch had the cash to pay the remainder of the bill so Ethan handed over his Rolex watch as a guarantee that he would repay his debt the next day, according to members of the club staff. The club was closed on Dec. 24 and Dec. 25. No one at the club saw either of the Couches ever again, they told ABC News.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/affluenza-teen-drank-strip-club-mexico/story?id=36099672

[yardwork]

1. How old is he? His mother was drinking with him?

He has a drinking problem, killed people in a drunk driving accident, and his mother is buying him drinks?

[forest444]

3. He's 18 (April 1997), although I doubt it would have been a problem even if he had been 12.

His parents, by all accounts, both have drinking and/or substance abuse problems - besides suffering from a major case of delusions of grandeur (allowing money to go to one's head like that; so nouveau riche).

Whatever prison sentence is handed out to the Couches (if any at all), ten times as much should be handed to Judge Jean Boyd for gross malfeasance in public office (and most likely, corruption).

[47of74]

4. That judge should be disbarred.

[groundloop]

5. Too late, she recently retired. AND there's more to the story.....

Judge who gave Ethan Couch probation gave another teen 20 years behind bars for fatal DWI crash

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article52741505.html#storylink=cpy

[Judi Lynn]

7. Thanks for sharing this information. Never knew about it until you posted it. n/t

[47of74]

8. Yes I know she was retired and I still think she should be disbarred.

Keep her from "practicing" law ever again.

[24601]

10. This is not a defense of Couch who's sentence is bullshit. But read the article because it discusses

comparisons to the earlier case involving Eric Miller.

It's instead an observation that as the article says:

"Although the Miller and Couch cases share similarities and demonstrate the latitude a judge has in sentencing, legal experts say it’s difficult to draw comparisons because of the confidentiality surrounding juvenile records. Each case is decided on its own merits and no two cases are alike, cautioned Huyen Pham, a criminal law professor at Texas A&M Law School."

The more significant things

- The sentence was 20 years - Prosecutors had asked for 40.
- Miller served 4 years, 5 months and his case also remained in the Juvenile system

- Miller's DUI Manslaughter occurred in conjunction with the commission of another felony, which allowed for transferred intent
- Miller did not plea bargain but elected for a jury trial. That is an accused right, but when you gamble and lose, you lose bigger.

As the article also pointed out,

“You get a ‘trial tax.’ It’s a common phrase among lawyers,” [Criminal Attorney] Ardoin said. “When you contest the case, it factors into the way that judges view the case. If you go to trial, you’re not going to get as lenient a sentence as you would if you had pleaded guilty. It makes a huge difference in the federal system, but it happens in the state system as well.”

Miller has been in trouble again ending up with a conviction for evading arrest and detention and was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty. The new conviction also caused revocation of his parole. His projected release is in March 2027 with parole eligibility in March 2017.

[SoCalMusicLover]

2. Not Really LBN

Daily Mail had this story days ago.

[groundloop]

6. thanks for your concern

[Blue_Tires]

9. Damn...Gringos throwing their cash around after hours

drunk teenager with a Rolex...

How the hell did these people not get robbed?

[peabody]

11. I would feel really weird

going to a strip club with my mom.

[bdwker]

12. That is SOME mother.

You don't see many mothers taking their son to a strip club and helping him get loaded followed by
Lap dances and visits to th VIP room.

Seems like a very understanding mother... Very rare.

Now, I only hope she encouraged him to use safe sex practices.