'Affluenza' Teen's Dad Guilty of Claiming to Be Officer

ByDAVID CAPLAN ABCNews logo
Thursday, December 15, 2016

Like his son, the father of infamous "affluenza" teen Ethan Couch is in trouble with the law.

WFAA, ABC's Dallas affiliate, reports that a Tarrant County, Texas, jury found Fred Couch, 51, guilty of a misdemeanor of false identification of a peace officer in a 2014 case involving police in North Richland Hills, an affluent Dallas-Fort Worth suburb.

Fred Couch - whose teenage son, currently in custody, caused a car accident in 2013 that killed four people and severely injured another - pleased not guilty to the charge against him on Tuesday, his trial's first day of testimony.

According to WFAA, Fred Couch told North Richland Hills officers who were responding to a disturbance call that he was a reserve police officer in the town of nearby Lakeside.

And to make matters worse, police said they found on him a badge reading "Lakeside Police Search and Rescue."

He faces a maximum of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, WFAA reports.

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