'Affluenza' Teen Under Investigation After Beer Pong Video Surfaces
— -- The Texas teen who avoided jail time in the drunk-driving deaths of four people in 2013 is under investigation after a video allegedly showing him in the same room where people were playing a drinking game was posted on Twitter Wednesday.
The six-second video is purported to show Ethan Couch clapping and laughing after another man jumps on a beer pong table in a room. The video, posted by Twitter user @BlondeSpectre, was tagged to the Twitter accounts of the Burleson Police Department and the Tarrant County District Attorney with the comment "ya boy ethan couch violating probation. i got more if u want."
"We were made aware of the video and along with the video the person had written they had additional video that they were willing to share," Samantha Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney, told ABC News.
Jordan also confirmed to ABC News that the office is investigating whether the video shows Couch, 18, violating his probation.
ABC News has reached out to the Twitter user who posted the video, the law office who represented Couch in previous litigation, and Couch's father for comment. The district attorney's office said it was not aware if Couch currently has legal representation.
In 2013, Couch was sentenced to 10 years of probation and the following year was ordered to enter rehab after he plowed into a group of people in Burleson, Texas, while driving drunk after a party.
On June 15, 2013, Couch, then 16, got behind the wheel of his pick-up truck with more than three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system, according to authorities.
Police say the teen was barreling down a road at 70 miles per hour when he lost control and struck a group of people helping a stranded driver on the side of the road. The crash killed all four people -- the motorist and the bystanders -- and two passengers in Couch's truck were sent to the hospital with serious injuries.
Couch's defense team, which included psychologist Dr. G. Dick Miller, argued that the teen suffered from "affluenza," meaning his irresponsible behavior and lifestyle were a product of his affluent upbringing and "profoundly dysfunctional" parents. Although lawyers in the case did not specifically use "affluenza" as Couch's defense, Miller used the term in his testimony as a paid witness for the defense.
Exactly two years ago, on Dec. 4, 2013, Couch pleaded guilty to four accounts of intoxication manslaughter and two accounts of intoxication assault. His lawyers argued the teen should go to rehab instead of jail, and Miller reportedly said Couch should be separated from his parents for a period of time.
Couch’s probation terms stated he could not drive, drink alcohol or use drugs. Violating those terms could result in a jail sentence of up to 10 years, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office said at the time.
