A man who fatally shot a 9-year-old girl while he was being robbed at an ATM has been indicted for murder by a grand jury after a previous one declined to do so, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
It was two years ago when Tony Earls, now 33, and his wife drove to a Houston ATM on Valentine’s Day to withdraw money and were accosted by a gunman who snatched $20, a check and their car keys before fleeing on foot.
After Earls got out of his car, the robber fired at him, and he fired back, his attorneys said at the time. Earls also aimed at a pickup truck, under the impression that the robbery suspect had jumped into it.
But it was 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez and her family in the truck, on their way to get pizza. She was shot in the head and died later at a hospital.
At first Earls was charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, among other accusations including manslaughter and murder. But a grand jury in July 2022 did not indict him due to the broad self-defense rights enshrined in Texas state law, a legal professor said at the time.
His defenders have also blamed a lack of security at the Houston-area Chase Bank for the shooting, and the robber himself, who has never been caught.
The change came about after special prosecutor Warren Diepraam was appointed to reexamine the case. He had an FBI firearms expert study the evidence, measure the scene and scrutinize surveillance video.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
With News Wire Services
