PCS Bail Bonds (www.PCSBailBonds.com), Fort Worth, Texas’s most trusted bail bond service, is weighing in on Tonya Couch’s $1 million bail.
Tonya Couch arrived at a Fort Worth Jail on Friday January 8 after being extradited from Mexico. She is facing a $1 million bail bond for allegedly helping her son flee to Mexico. Her lawyer filed a habeas corpus petition in an attempt to keep her from being illegally detained as well as to decrease the amount of bail, which he considers to be disproportionate. (Source: Osborne, R., “Tonya Couch in Tarrant County jail, to appeal $1 million bail,” Star-Telegram web site, January 7, 2016; http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article53529705.html.)
“What her lawyer is essentially saying is that the $1 million bail amount is excessive in proportion to the crime,” says Paul Schuder, owner of PCS Bail Bonds. “His appeal is for the courts to lower the amount of the bail to a figure that he and his client will see as fair.”
Tonya’s son Ethan Couch missed a probation appointment and Tonya is thought to have helped him escape to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Both were found and detained in Mexico and while Ethan remains in a Mexican jail, his mother was brought back to Fort Worth to face charges. All of this stems from a 2013 incident in which Ethan struck and killed three people while driving drunk. Nine other people were injured, including some of the seven people who were riding in his van.
“This was one of those horrific stories from a few years ago,” Schuder continues. “The people who died were helping a woman whose car was broken down at the side of the road. In addition to Ethan Couch’s blood alcohol level being three times over the normal limit, he also had Valium in his bloodstream.”
Couch was 16 at the time of the incident and was sentenced to 10 years in rehabilitation. The case made national headlines because of Ethan’s affluent childhood and suspected lack of rules in place, which suggests why he doesn’t take responsibility for his actions. When he violated his probation by missing an appointment with his probation officer, Tonya Couch helped him escape to Mexico and assisted in his avoiding arrest, which is a third-degree felony.
PCS Bail Bonds provides bail bond services to residents of Tarrant County, including Fort Worth.