Texas judge won’t revoke bond for mother of ‘affluenza’ teen

FORT WORTH, Texas – A Texas judge has declined to revoke bond for the mother of a teenager who used an “affluenza” defence regarding a fatal drunken-driving wreck after prosecutors said she carried a rifle and sipped beer.

Judge Wayne Salvant on Thursday urged Tonya Couch, who’s free on bond, to “use common sense” pending her trial on hindering apprehension of a felon and money laundering charges. Prosecutors wanted her returned to jail.

Witnesses testifying for prosecutors Thursday alleged Couch carried a rifle at a gun show over the weekend and sipped beer at a restaurant last month.

Ethan Couch is jailed for two years as a probation condition for the 2013 North Texas wreck that killed four. A psychologist at trial blamed “affluenza” or acting irresponsibly due to wealth for his actions.

The Couches fled to Mexico in 2015.