FORT WORTH, Texas — Nearly a year after he was released from jail, Ethan Couch got his GPS monitor removed this week, according to court documents.
Couch, 21, who was dubbed the "affluenza teen" during his trial for killing four people in a 2013 drunken driving crash, had served almost two years in jail as an added condition of his probation in the case.
He was released from jail in April 2018, with several conditions: A GPS monitor, a curfew of 9 p.m., an alcohol monitor and drug testing.
He was allowed to have the GPS monitor removed on Monday, according to court documents.
Couch had initially received a sentence of 10 years of probation for the 2013 crash. Then he and his mother, Tonya Couch, fled to Mexico in December 2015. They were arrested in Puerto Vallarta after about a month on the run.
When Couch's case transferred to adult court in April 2016, his new judge, Wayne Salvant, added four 180-day stints in jail – one for each count in the case – as a condition of his probation.
Tonya Couch was indicted on charges of hindering the apprehension of a fugitive and money laundering in the 2015 flee to Mexico. Her case hasn't yet gone to trial.
