FORT WORTH, Texas – The Latest on the case of "affluenza" teenager Ethan Couch (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
Authorities say a Texas judge has changed his mind and decided to move "affluenza" teenager Ethan Couch to an adult jail.
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson confirmed during a news conference Friday that the 18-year-old Couch was moved from a juvenile detention center in Fort Worth to the adult county jail.
Anderson and prosecutors had pushed Judge Tiimothy Menikos last week to do the same, but the judge initially refused.
District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Samantha Jordan said the judge changed his mind and met with Couch's attorneys on Thursday. She didn't provide details of the meeting.
Anderson said Friday that he felt more comfortable with Couch "in a more secure environment."
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3:10 p.m.
The Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck has been transferred to an adult jail.
Records show that 18-year-old Ethan Couch was moved Friday from a juvenile detention center to the Tarrant County jail.
A hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 19 to determine whether his case would move from juvenile to adult court. It wasn't immediately clear if the jail transfer affected his status in the juvenile system.
Couch was given probation for the 2013 wreck that killed four people. During the juvenile trial, a defense expert said Couch's wealthy parents coddled him and invoked the term "affluenza."
Couch was ordered to the juvenile center after being deported from Mexico last month. Authorities believe he and his mother fled as prosecutors investigated whether he violated his probation.
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