A grieving mother criticized a grand jury for failing to charge a man who fatally shot her young daughter while pursuing a robbery suspect.
After Harris County, Texas, jurors decided not to indict Tony Earls, 41, for shooting and killing Arlene Alvarez, nine, on February 15, Gwen Alvarez made a statement.
It was established that [the suspect] never jumped into our car, so Gwen said: “I don’t comprehend Earls’ innocence.”
My daughter is still buried beneath, therefore he gets to see the light that my daughter cannot,’ her mother Gwen Alvarez said during the press conference on Tuesday.
He was acting with knowledge and intended to kill everyone in that car, according to reports.
Earls was held up in his automobile at gunpoint on the evening of Arlene’s death, not long after using a Chase ATM.
Earls exited his car as the suspect ran on foot and started firing, including at a pickup truck he believed the robbery suspect had entered.
The pickup vehicle, however, is a family possession for the Alvarezes.
Arlene was shot in the head and sent to the hospital, where she passed away a month and a half later.
Because Earls had just been a victim of a crime, he was able to avoid being charged with either murder or manslaughter.
In the end, the jury agreed with his defense team when they said that he had a right to defend himself and his assets.
Before criticizing the jury’s judgment, the mother said she was “dragged” to the press conference and that she was “mad” and “aggravated.”
She stated, fighting back tears, “I lived that moment and I go back to that day every night.”
Earls may not have been responsible for his acts, but he is aware of the motives behind his bullets at our car because self-defense only permits nine shots.
The bereaved mother is now pleading with people to “stop firing at vehicles” because she was concerned that her dead daughter wasn’t in good “spiritual” standing.
There are many people and children that are dying.
She referred to the numerous shootings that have occurred since her daughter’s passing as “our future is dying.”
“What’s the matter with your guys?
Where has humanity gone? What about your heart? Where has your soul gone?
Prior to the shooting, Arlene’s father claimed she was using headphones and didn’t hear him tell the family to “get down.”
She was the only person who remained standing.
He claimed earlier this year that she had not heard him.
Alvarez claimed that at the time of the shooting, he was taking his family to Arlene’s preferred restaurant.
When he heard the gunfire begin, he claimed that his first thought was to speed up his car in an effort to leave the area.
When Earls later called the police to report the crime, he claimed he was unaware that his gunshot had struck the truck.
According to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, Earls was charged with aggravated assault for the shooting but the charge was dismissed on Tuesday and cannot be brought up again.
The grand jury, which was composed of a ‘random group of ordinary Harris County residents who responded to their jury summons, heard the evidence in this case as it was presented by our prosecutors, heard all of the possible charges, including murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, and criminally-negligent homicide,’ Ogg said.
That grand jury “heard potential defenses” as well.
The DA added that using lethal force to protect property may occasionally be justified.
The family of Alvarez is now focusing on the aggrieved and requesting community assistance in locating him.
Tuesday, Gwen asked for aid in finding this person.
According to ABC 13 Houston, a $30,000 reward is currently being offered to assist in locating the “killer.”
Attorneys for Earls expressed sympathy to the Alvarez family but also stated that they thought Earls acted as “anyone in that situation would have acted.”
In a statement, they also criticized the DA, saying: “We also hope that the DA’s office would not be so fast in the future to charge the best available individual, but rather, the most appropriate one.”