A grand jury declined to indict a Texas man 2 years ago for the murder of a 9-year-old child. He is now charged with murder

A 33-year-old Texas man was charged Tuesday with the February 2022 murder of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez — nearly two years after another grand jury declined to indict him in connection with the child’s fatal shooting .

Tony Earls Jr. was released after a Harris County grand jury declined to indict him on aggravated assault charges in July 2022. But the case went to another grand jury this year after the prosecutor District Attorney Kim Ogg has appointed a special prosecutor to review it.

Earls was at a bank on the night of Feb. 14, 2022, when he was robbed at gunpoint, the District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. As the robber fled, Earls pulled out a gun and began shooting at the suspect, the office said.

As Earls began shooting, the Alvarez family drove past the bank — with Arlene in the back seat — and he fired several shots at their van, fatally striking the girl, the prosecutor’s office said. Arlene’s parents previously told CNN affiliate KHOU that they were going to a Houston restaurant for a Valentine’s Day dinner when their daughter was shot in the head.

Arlene, who was in fourth grade, took care of her younger siblings — who were also in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, her parents’ lawyer said — and “got along well with everyone” .

Earls previously said he started shooting because he heard gunshots as the robber began to run away and thought he was being shot at, according to prosecutors. He didn’t know anyone had been hit by his gunfire and left the scene to call police and report the robbery, according to KHOU.

He was arrested and charged, but was released after the grand jury declined to indict him.

Special prosecutor Warren Diepraam, who handled the case, said an FBI firearms expert was assigned to review the evidence.

“The expert’s opinion is that Mr. Earls saw the robber drive past the vehicle with Arlene Alvarez inside – the vehicle did nothing to give Mr. Earls justification to shoot at the vehicle which was happening,” Diepraam said in a statement Wednesday.

Houston police are still working to identify and arrest the armed person who robbed Earls, he added.

CNN has reached out to Earls’ attorneys for comment. If convicted, he faces five years to life in prison, the prosecutor’s office said.

“We have a duty to ensure justice is served, and that included asking a new grand jury to review new evidence,” Ogg, the district attorney, said in a statement. “We have done everything we can to understand exactly what happened that day to ensure justice is served. »

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