Man Accused of Killing 9-Year-Old Released on Bond, Angering Victim's Mom

A man charged with fatally shooting a 9-year-old girl claims it was a case of wrong place, wrong time, but the young girl's mother dismissed his feelings of being "innocent" and criticized his ability to remain out of jail pending his trial.

Tony Earls opened fire on the car 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez and her family were driving in on Valentine's Day, thinking a man he thought robbed him was inside. While the rest of the family escaped the shooting unscathed, Arlene, who had headphones in at the time and didn't hear her father's warning to "get down," was fatally shot in the head.

Before the shooting, Earls was robbed at gunpoint at a Chase Bank and told police he thought the suspect was inside the Alvarez family truck, according to Houston police. Earls was charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury and given a $100,000 bond. He posted it and was released from jail on Thursday night.

"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 told KHOU. "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."

Armando Alvarez, Arlene's father, told KHOU that they're continuing to call attention to her death to "bring justice for all the kids who are dying today." He said there are "criminals that are coming out on bonds" that should potentially remain in jail.

"I want him to feel what I feel," Gwen Alvarez, Arlene's mother, told KHOU. "He needs to be in jail. He needs to suffer the way I'm suffering. I want him in jail."

The family rejects Earls' argument that he was acting in response to a crime committed against him. Armando previously told KHOU that it's "not self-defense" and criticized the decision to shoot at a truck just because the suspect was passing it. Rick Ramos, the family's attorney, also dismissed the self-defense case because there was no "immediate threat or fear" for his safety.

Ramos said at a press conference last week that they also plan to take legal action against Chase because of the lack of security at the bank.

"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," the bank said in a statement.

At a rally in support of the family, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee said, "we cannot have someone shooting at a vehicle taking the law into their hands." Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner posted on Twitter that he can't imagine the family's "unfathomable grief' and called Arlene the "innocent victim" who was caught in the crossfire.