HOUSTON – A man accused of shooting 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez to death back in 2022, appeared for a court hearing on Monday.
During the hearing for the suspect, Tony Earl, his defense lawyers requested that the special prosecutor be removed from the case moving forward.
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The special prosecutor assigned to the case, Warren Diepraam, and members of Arlene’s family addressed the media following court. According to Diepraam, the defense filed a motion for discovery on the case and he says his team has complied with every request they’ve been given.
Diepraam told the media that the defense is seeking to remove him from the case, alleging that they do not want the trial to proceed until the court finds someone else to replace him. Diepraam argued that the defense’s motive was to avoid trial, and that prosecutors truly believe the shooting was unjustified. They would like for the case to continue on so that the citizens of Harris County can determine the outcome.
“The defense would prefer the other prosecutors on the case because the case went away,” Diepraam said. “That’s not what my role is. My role is to make sure justice is done. And to give the defense every piece of evidence we have to let the jury decide whether or not the shooting was justified.”
SEE ALSO: Houston man indicted for murder in shooting death of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez in 2022
Diepraam added that in his more than 30-year career as a prosecutor, he has never heard of the defense lawyers asking for a prosecutor to be removed from the case.
“I’ve been a prosecutor for over 30 years, and I have never seen a case where the defense wants the prosecution off because they don’t like the result. My response is if you don’t like the way a prosecutor acts, you can run for District Attorney. Otherwise, I’m going to do my job and let a jury decide whether or not the shooting was justified or not,” Diepraam said.
Here’s what happened
Earls had originally been cleared after being no-billed by a grand jury in July 2022. A special prosecutor was appointed to the case, and it was brought before another grand jury that indicted him for murder on April 23.
Earls was arrested Wednesday, according to court records. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday. He is charged with murder as well as an unrelated aggravated assault charge. His combined bond is $140,000.
According to police, Alvarez was struck by a bullet while riding in the back of her family’s truck. Alvarez was rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where she later died.
Earls was at the Chase Bank at the intersection of Winkler and Woodridge when he was robbed at gunpoint at 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2022. After the robbery, Earls fired his handgun at the robber, who was running away from him.
At the same time, the Alvarez family were driving past the bank in their pickup when Earls fired several shots into the truck, killing the child.
Earls was initially charged with aggravated assault-serious bodily injury.
But when a Harris County grand jury failed to indict him in July 2022, he was released. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg assigned Special Prosecutor Warren Diepraam to reexamine the case.
Diepraam called in an FBI firearms expert to examine the physical evidence that had been collected.
“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. “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.”
If convicted of murder, Earls faces the full range of punishment, from five years in prison to life.
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