HOUSTON — A Houston man has been indicted again in the 2022 shooting death of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Tony Earls Jr., 33, is charged with murder in the shooting of the little girl who was out for a Valentine's Day dinner with her family.
Arlene's mother said they're hopeful this is the first step on the path to justice for her daughter.
"Even though it's been two years, it still feels like it was yesterday," Gwen Alvarez said at a news conference following the announcement. "We feel relieved ... and it gives us a little bit more comfort."
'He made a conscious choice'
The DA’s Office said Earls was at the Chase Bank at the intersection of Winkler and Woodridge in Gulfgate when he was robbed at gunpoint about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 14, 2022. After the robbery, Earls pulled a handgun and opened fire at the robber, who was running away from him.
At the same time, the Alvarez family, including 9-year-old Arlene, was driving in their truck past the bank where Earls was robbed, according to investigators. Earls reportedly fired several shots into the truck, hitting and killing the child.
"I understand that there are some people out there who have sympathy for Tony Earls, but he made a conscious choice to shoot into that vehicle that night and he took a life,” April Aguirre, Arlene's aunt, said Wednesday. “What he did that night was execute a little girl. She was shot in the temple and she didn’t deserve that bullet in the head.”
Earls was initially charged with aggravated assault, but a Harris County grand jury declined to indict him in July 2022 and he was released.
The family says they hired their own team to help uncover new evidence that led to the murder charge.
“The legal process has been a roller coaster. However, this family wasn’t going to give up because there’s a nine-year-old little girl who is in a grave and she should be here with us," Aguirre said.
Grand jury sees new evidence
Earlier this year, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg assigned special prosecutor Warren Diepraam to re-examine the case.
“We have a duty to see that justice is done, and that meant asking a new grand jury to look at new evidence,” Ogg said. “We have done everything possible to figure out exactly what happened that day to ensure that we get justice.”
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Diepraam said an FBI firearms expert was brought in to examine the physical evidence, take measurements at the scene, and look at surveillance videos that had been collected. He determined that Earls had to know the Alvarez vehicle had nothing to do with his robbery.
“The expert’s opinion is that Mr. Earls saw the robber run past the vehicle with Arlene Alvarez inside — the vehicle did not do anything to give Mr. Earls a justification to shoot into the passing vehicle,” Diepraam said. “Mr. Earls had a clear line of sight, and obviously, Mr. Alvarez did not stop and say to the robber, ‘Get in’ or anything like that.”
Diepraam also credited the Houston Police Department with continuing to investigate the case and gather evidence even after Earls was no-billed.
“The most basic right of every victim is to have their day in court and that’s what we wanted. We wanted to see somebody fight for Arlene and we could not accept the no bill that we received last July," Aguirre said. "I hope it’s a message of hope and I know that there’s a light shining brightly in heaven today.”
“Hopefully it inspires other families to never give up on their loved ones,” Gwen Alvarez said.
Diepraam noted that HPD investigators have continued to work to identify and arrest the man who robbed Earls.
If convicted of murder, Earls faces the full range of punishment, from five years in prison to life, the DA’s Office said.
At least check, Police were still looking for Earls. He is also still wanted on an unrelated assault charge.
Below is a KHOU 11 report from 2022 after Earls was no-billed the first time.