--- title: 'Affluenza' Teen Ethan Couch Moved to Adult Jail description: Ethan Couch, known for using "affluenza" as a defense argument, was transferred from juvenile detention to an adult jail on Friday canonical: https://time.com/4210630/affluenza-teen-ethan-couch-adult-jail/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-06T14:47:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:49:54.015Z article:section: U.S. og:title: 'Affluenza' Teen Ethan Couch Moved to Adult Jail og:description: Ethan Couch, known for using "affluenza" as a defense argument, was transferred from juvenile detention to an adult jail on Friday og:url: https://time.com/4210630/affluenza-teen-ethan-couch-adult-jail/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt468e3eec10cec760/69887c77f887dc52fce947e2/ethan-couch.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ethan Couch og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Affluenza' Teen Ethan Couch Moved to Adult Jail twitter:description: Ethan Couch, known for using "affluenza" as a defense argument, was transferred from juvenile detention to an adult jail on Friday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt468e3eec10cec760/69887c77f887dc52fce947e2/ethan-couch.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Affluenza' Teen Transferred to Adult Jail  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 6, 2016 2:47 PM CUT  Ethan Couch appears in a booking photo on Feb. 5, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas. Ethan Couch appears in a booking photo on Feb. 5, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas.Tarrant County Sheriff's Department/AP  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 6, 2016 2:47 PM CUT Ethan Couch, [known for his lawyer’s use of “affluenza” as a legal defense](http://time.com/4162865/affluenza-teen-ethan-couch-found-mexico-arrested/ "undefined") after Couch killed four people in a drunken-driving accident in 2013, [was transferred from juvenile detention to an adult jail](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/02/06/affluenza-teen-ethan-couch-jail-time-adult/79920884/ "undefined") on Friday. Couch, 18, was moved to Tarrant County jail’s maximum security unit in Fort Worth, Texas, and is in a single-cell for his own protection, [USA Today reported](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/02/06/affluenza-teen-ethan-couch-jail-time-adult/79920884/ "undefined"). “He is still under all the juvenile law restrictions, all that,” Sheriff Dee Anderson said in a press conference on Friday. “He is held without bond. He cannot post bond as a juvenile.” Couch was sentenced to 10 years probation in 2013 for the drunken-driving incident. He was again arrested in December after violating his probation and fleeing to Mexico with his mother. Prosecutors requested last week that Couch be transferred to the adult jail. The advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving [launched a campaign last month](http://time.com/4175046/affluenza-ethan-couch-mothers-against-drunk-driving/ "undefined") to get Couch’s case moved from juvenile to adult court, arguing it would ensure he is held accountable. “He’s an adult,” Anderson said on Friday, noting Couch’s upcoming 19th birthday. “He doesn’t need to be housed in a juvenile detention facility. 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