A Texas gentleman fired into a pickup truck he mistakenly assumed his assailant would enter. Rather than realizing he had successfully defended himself and his assailant was fleeing, 41-year-old Tony Earls killed 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez. A Texas grand jury somehow has excused this use of deadly force.
An investigation determined Earls and his wife were targeted by a robber near a Chase Bank ATM in the Gulfgate area. Earls then got out and shot at the fleeing suspect and a pickup truck that he thought the person was getting into, police said.
But the pickup was not the suspect's getaway car. Instead, Arlene and her family were inside.
Earls was arrested and charged with aggravated assault but with the grand jury's decision, his case cannot be presented again, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
"The grand jury, a random group of ordinary people in Harris County who answered their jury summons, heard the evidence in this case as presented by our prosecutors, heard all of the possible charges – from murder to manslaughter to aggravated assault to criminally-negligent homicide. That grand jury also heard possible defenses," Ogg said, explaining that deadly force can be excused including under defense of property cases.
Via Fark
