HOUSTON — The family of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez expressed their frustration Friday night that the man accused of shooting their daughter is out on bond.
"I'm pissed off right now that this person who killed my daughter is out and out in public right now," said Arlene's father, Armando Alvarez. "This person should have no bond."
Houston police said Arlene was shot when a man opened fire on who he thought was the suspect that robbed him at an ATM. A bullet went through Arlene’s family vehicle, hitting the young girl in the head.
Tony Earls, 41, is charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury. He was being held on a $100,000 bond but posted it and was released Thursday night.
The attorney for the family says they expect the charge to be upgraded to murder.
"The amount of the bond, the $100,000, does not correlate with the moral values in our community, which is to protect our children," the family's attorney said. "If you killed a child in this community, and it was by intentional act, and it was reckless in nature, and we can show that on the probable cause hearing, you should have no bond."
Arlene's mother, Gwen Alvarez, says she wants to make a difference for other parents whose children were killed.
"I can't believe that I'm shopping around for my baby's grave. It's something that I never thought I would ever go through," she said. "I think that it's unbelievable that all these evil people are out without, with a bond. And I feel like he has taken a big part of me."
The family's attorney says a lawsuit is in the works against the bank where the incident started. They claim the bank and the area are a hotspot for crime.
"In the state of Texas now, when you file a lawsuit, within 30 days of your defendant answering, you better have a piece of evidence, documents, audio recordings to be able to back up your filing of your lawsuit," the attorney said. "When we file it, it's because we mean something."
Chase bank provided KHOU 11 the following statement regarding the incident:
“We’re saddened by this tragic incident and offer our sincere condolences to the Alvarez family. We are working closely with local officials who are handling the investigation."
What happened
New details were revealed about Arelene's death when Tony Earls appeared before a judge Thursday morning.
The 41-year-old man is charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, but the charge could be upgraded. Earls remains jailed on a $100,000 bond. His defense attorney tried to get his bond reduced to $20,000 but the judge denied the request.
Prosecutors said Earls was riding in the passenger seat of his car along with his wife when they were robbed at the drive-thru ATM. They said the robber took their keys, wallets and cash before running off.
They say Earls got out of the car and fired four shots at the suspect and then fired two more shots at the Alvarez's truck because he thought the robber was inside it.
One of those two shots hit Arlene, who was in the backseat of the truck watching a movie with headphones on.
“I told everyone to get down and Arlene’s the only one that didn’t get down. She had her headphones in,” Armando Álvarez, her father, said during a press conference.
“We were like, ‘duck down, duck down Arlene.’ And I didn’t scream loud enough. I didn’t know she had her headphones on,” said her mother, Gwen Alvarez.
'This was not self-defense'
Earls and his wife drove home and called 911 to report the robbery. Once he was charged in connection with the shooting, he turned himself in. They said he as been cooperating with the investigation.
Earls' attorney argued his client was acting in self-defense after being robbed at the ATM.
“It was an unfortunate situation for both families. They were robbed at gunpoint,” Sepi Zimmer, with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said Thursday. “We, to me, it’s vitally important that we do identify who this robber is. He’s the person who put the change of events into action that night.”
"Now he wants to say it’s self-defense. It’s not self-defense,” Armando Álvarez said Wednesday. “You don’t self-defense when a person is running, already two blocks away from you and you’re shooting at that person and then you decide to shoot at a truck just because he’s passing by at a public street. Now my daughter’s gone. I mean c’mon.”
The Alvarez family’s attorney says they are relieved the judge did not lower Earls’ bond.
"Intentionally, knowingly and recklessly took his pistol, aimed it at the truck and fired shot after shot after shot after shot going inside the actual truck. They had a baby in the truck who could have been killed, the siblings could have been killed, mom could have been killed, he (Dad) could have been killed," the attorney said Wednesday.
He said the family wants to see Earls charged with murder. Earl’s charge remains the same for now until the case is referred to a grand jury.
If Earls is released, he has to abide by an 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. curfew, he's not allowed to have weapons and cannot have contact with the Alvarez family.
Vigil for 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez
Hundreds of people showed up at the southeast Houston bank where Arlene was shot to mourn this little girl and to rally behind her family. They demanded answers as to how this could have happened.
Now, they want justice after they say Earls took matters into his own hands by shooting at their truck after an alleged robbery.
“We cannot have someone shooting at a vehicle taking the law into their hands," said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, (D) Houston.
The family was taking a trip to Arlene's favorite pizza place on Valentine's Day when she was shot. Spanky’s Pizza plans to donate 30% of all sales next Monday to the family.
“I have an 18 month-old son and honestly I can’t even imagine, I can’t imagine," said Spanky's co-owner Holly Waters. "We’re going to show some love on Monday and we hope the entire community comes out and shows them that love as well."