A warrant has been issued for "affluenza" teen Ethan Couch, who killed four people in a drunken-driving accident near Fort Worth, Texas in 2013. The warrant was issued for Couch, 18, in Tarrant County on Dec. 11 after a juvenile probation officer was unable to reach Couch or his mother for the past several days, according to The Dallas Morning News.
"It's our understanding that the court has issued a directive to apprehend to have Ethan detained because he is out of contact with his probation officer," the lawyers' statement said.
Couch is currently serving 10 years of probation in the juvenile system after he rammed his pickup truck into a crowd, killing four people, reported the Associated Press. Prosecutors had pushed for a maximum sentence of 20 years in state custody on vehicular manslaughter charges, but the defense argued that Couch, who was 16 at the time, had lived a life as a rich kid without boundaries or consequences and as such didn't know any better - in other words, he suffered from "affluenza."
Agreeing with the defense, District Judge Jean Boyd ruled that Couch would be better served in treatment programs outside the juvenile justice. As such, Couch was sent to Vernon State Hospital in West Texas for treatment and was released several months ago.
The warrant comes after a video surfaced on Twitter which shows Couch, among several others, playing beer bong, reported NBC's Dallas affiliate NBCDFW. Couch's probabtion dictates that he can't use drugs, drive or drink alcohol, so attorneys have launched their own investigation to determine whether he violated his probation.
In the meantime, Couch's case remains in juvenile court prosecutors have filed a motion to transfer him to adult court, but it wouldn't go into effect until he turns 19 in April.
