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DAY 4: Tony Earls Jr. trial for death of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez
Day 4 of testimony in the trial of Tony Earls Jr., who is charged with manslaughter in the death of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez.
HOUSTON - The trial for Tony Earls Jr. continued in Houston on Monday morning.
Earls is charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez in 2022.
Opening statements in his trial were delivered on Wednesday, and the jury continued to hear the case on Thursday and Friday. On Monday, the defense and prosecution rested. You can watch the full Day 4 of the trial in the video player above.
Closing arguments are expected on Tuesday. FOX 26 will livestream the trial at fox26houston.com/live, on Youtube and on the FREE FOX LOCAL app for your smart TV and phone.
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Tony Earls trial: Day 3 recap
Prosecutors on Day 3 of Tony Earls Jr's trial focused on the gun that was allegedly used in the shooting that killed 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez in 2022.
Deadly 2022 shooting
The backstory:
Arlene Alvarez, 9, was fatally shot in her family’s pickup truck on the night of Feb. 14, 2022.
Police say the man who shot the girl, Earls, fired at the innocent family’s vehicle incorrectly believing it belonged to a suspect who had just robbed him at an ATM.
According to police, Earls and his wife were in their vehicle at an ATM in the 2900 block of Woodridge when a still-unidentified man suddenly appeared with a gun and demanded money.
Authorities say the woman gave the suspect her wallet and cash before the suspect ran away, jumped over a fence at a business in the 200 block of Winkler and possibly ran toward a nearby apartment complex. Police are still searching for him to this day.
After the robbery, police say Earls shot at a vehicle he thought the suspect was in. A family, who were not involved in the robbery, were in the pickup truck. Arlene was in the backseat and was shot. She died from her injuries.
Legal back-and-forth
Dig deeper:
The trial follows years of legal back-and-forth.
Initially, a few months after the shooting, a grand jury decided not to indict Earls for the shooting.
Two years later, new evidence uncovered by an FBI firearms expert compelled prosecutors to re-present the case to a grand jury in 2024. At that time, he was indicted on a murder charge.
However, in July of this year, a grand jury indicted Earls on a manslaughter charge, and the murder charge was subsequently dropped.
The Source: The information in this article comes from the Houston Police Department, court documents and previous FOX 26 reporting.