Lawyer for Arlene Alvarez’s family wants DA’s office to try again after grand jury no-bill

Lawyers for the family of Arlene Alvarez took exception to how prosecutors approached the criminal case involving her shooting death, suggesting in the wake of a grand jury choosing to no-bill the accused gunman that there was another way to garner an indictment.

The attorney, Rick Ramos, went as far to say Wednesday that the District Attorney Kim Ogg’s office should take the case against Tony Earls to another grand jury — a tactic that Ogg said her prosecutors would not do without new evidence. The comments about the prosecution’s work highlighted the Alvarez family’s grief in the five months since the 9-year-old girl’s death during a Valentine’s Day clash between Earls and an armed robber.

During the incident, police said a masked man robbed Earls and his wife at gunpoint as the couple stopped at a Chase Bank in Houston’s Gulfgate neighborhood. Earls, believing that the robber at opened fire at him, fired several shots at a vehicle he thought was carrying the fleeing robber, police have said.

Inside the vehicle was Arlene and her family, who had been driving by. The gunfire fatally struck her.

“I do believe that they should go ahead and request a different grand jury and be able to re-present the case, maybe from a different perspective, and then more likely than not, they’re going to have a different outcome,” said Ramos, who specializes in personal injury law. The same lawyer has sought a lawsuit against Chase Bank on behalf of the family. 

“Prosecutors are smart, they learn from their mistakes, and I think they’ll be able to clean up maybe what they feel they could have done differently,” he continued during a news conference at his office.

A panel of grand jurors heard evidence pertaining to Earls’ case on Tuesday and declined to indict him on a charge of aggravated assault, causing serious bodily harm, the charge that led to his arrest in the hours after the shooting. Arlene died the next day.

The district attorney’s office declined to reveal what evidence was presented during the grand jury proceedings, citing state law that deems the proceedings confidential. 

“Our hearts go out to the family of Arlene Alvarez as they endure unimaginable pain and seek justice in her incredibly unfair death,” Ogg’s spokesman, Dane Schiller, said Wednesday, assuring that “all relevant evidence” was presented to the jurors.

He reiterated Ogg’s remarks that new evidence would be required to allow prosecutors to re-present the case to another grand jury.

“While the grand jurors’ decision may be difficult to accept, we respect it,” Schiller said.

Arlene’s parents, Wendy and Armando Alvarez, were slated to appear at the news conference but the couple did not appear. The mother addressed reporters in the hours following the no-bill Tuesday and questioned the grand jury’s decision that charges against Earls should not proceed.

The child’s aunt, April Aguirre, sat alongside Ramos and expressed her worry that prosecutors did not present a “full picture” of Earls’ state of mind.

Ramos pointed out that as Earls’ criminal case unfolded, it was determined that he had a prior finding of a mental illness or an intellectual disability in the year prior to the shooting.

Ramos believes any finding of a mental illness or an intellectual disability should have precluded any claims of self-defense from Earls. 

Earls was not prohibited from owning a firearm, according to state law. 

Earls’ defense attorney, Myrecia Donaldson, said she gave prosecutors a grand jury packet outlining their position on the case and his defenses.

“They are making claims that the (district attorney’s office) did not properly present the case,” Donaldson said. “We’re not present during the grand jury proceedings but I have full faith that they presented the case — because they wanted to charge him.” 

Witnesses are allowed during grand jury proceedings and Earls’ wife was made available to testify, she continued. A statement the wife made about the robbery was included in the defense packet. 

“We are at the mercy of the state when we submit grand jury packets,” Donaldson added. 

In the aftermath of the grand jury’s decision, the district attorney’s office has re-emphasized their focus on the Houston Police Department’s investigation into finding the man who robbed Earls and set into motion Arlene’s death.

“Houston Police investigators worked for months with prosecutors as they turned over every stone ensured a thorough and complete investigation,” Schiller continued. “Our attention is now laser-focused on capturing the criminal responsible for Arlene’s death. Someone out there knows who he is and where he is.”

Crime Stoppers of Houston and Houston-area billionaire Tilman Ferttita are offering their own rewards for tips that could lead to an arrest and conviction of that robbery suspect, an amount adding up to $30,000. 

nicole.hensley@chron.com