Ethan Couch, the Texas teen whose "affluenza" defense allowed him to escape jail time after killing four people in a 2013 drunken-driving crash, is under investigation after a video of him allegedly playing beer pong while on probation surfaced recently.
The Tarrant County district attorney's
office confirmed to The Dallas Morning News Thursday that Couch is being investigated for violation of his probation because of a six-second video uploaded to Twitter Wednesday. The 18-year-old could end up in jail for up to 10 years if he is found to be in violation.
A blond man who appears to look like Couch is shown halfway through the beer pong clip laughing and clapping.
WFAA-TV identified the Twitter user @BlondeSpectre as Hannah Hardee. Hardee, 21, told the television station that she did not attend the party, but found a clip of it on Twitter and reposted it. Hardee said that video was reportedly taken on Oct. 4 and removed from Twitter after she saved it.
"It was just making me mad that they were not taking any of this seriously," she told WFAA-TV as to why she reposted the video. "And after seeing the interviews with the victims' families and stuff, it just really gets to me."
Couch was just 16 when he lost control of his Ford pickup on June 15, 2013, hitting and killing four people huddled on the side of the road to help a woman whose car had stalled in
southern Tarrant County, the Star-Telegram reported. The teen reportedly had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit and Valium in his system at the time.
His case made headlines when Couch's defense argued that he is a victim of "affluenza," a state of reckless or irresponsible behavior brought on by wealth, according to the newspaper. He was ultimately sentenced to 10 years' probation and therapy.
District Judge Timothy Menikos was already expected to rule on moving Couch's case from juvenile to adult court after his 19 birthday in April, The Morning News noted.
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