The bodega clerk, Jose Alba, 61, was working at the Blue Moon convenience store in Upper Manhattan on the night of July 1 when he got into a deadly altercation with a man named Austin Simon, according to a copy of Alba’s criminal complaint. Alba was also allegedly stabbed by Simon’s girlfriend during the incident, the complaint states.
Simon’s girlfriend had left the store after her payment was refused while she tried to buy a snack for her daughter, and she returned to the store with Simon.
The New York Post obtained surveillance video of the incident and reported that the woman was heard saying, “my f—– is going to come down here right now and I’m going to get you” shortly before Simon came into the store.
According to the complaint, surveillance video shows Simon, carrying a white towel in one hand, walk into the area behind the counter where Alba was sitting and then push him.
“Mr Simon then put the towel in his pocket and attempted to direct the accused from the area behind the counter but the accused picked up a kitchen knife which was hidden behind the counter and stabbed Mr Simon in the neck and chest at least five times,” the complaint said.
The complaint states that Simon’s girlfriend tried to pull Alba away from Simon by holding his right arm, but he continued to stab Simon. The complaint states that Simon’s girlfriend, who has not been named, then pulled a knife from her purse and stabbed Alba. No charges have been filed against her at this time, according to a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
Simon died later that evening “from stab wounds to the neck and torso,” the complaint said.
“He wanted me to come apologize to the girl. I took the box knife and stabbed him,” Alba told an investigator, according to the complaint.
Alba was arrested by police on July 2 and charged with one count of second-degree murder. Alba has not entered a plea, according to Emily Whitfield, a spokeswoman for his attorney.
Alice Fontier, managing director of the Harlem Neighborhood Watch, which offers legal services to the community and represents Alba, said in a statement to CNN that Alba was defending himself during the incident.
“The video in this case speaks for itself: Mr. Alba was simply doing his job when he was aggressively cornered by a much younger and larger man,” Fontier said in the statement.
Alba has worked at the bodega since he immigrated to New York 35 years ago from the Dominican Republic in search of a better life, Fontier said, adding that he had worked at the bodega where the incident happened for three years.
“He worked hard to earn his U.S. citizenship 18 years ago and has been a constant source of support for his children and grandchildren,” Fontier said.
Prosecutors decided to lower Alba’s bail after the clerk was held at Riker Island for several days, saying at a hearing that they had talked with defense counsel about crafting a bail package that balanced the facts of the case. He was released on $50,000 bail, partially secured by the owners of the bottle where Alba worked. Doug Cohen, a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, told CNN: “We continue to review the evidence and the investigation is ongoing.”
Alba is due back in court on July 20.
The group is demanding that the prosecutor drop the murder charge
On Sunday, Fernando Mateo, speaking on behalf of United Bodegas of America, said he and other representatives of the organization were expected to meet with the Manhattan district attorney’s office to urge prosecutors to drop the charge in Alba’s murder.
Jose Alba has our full support, Mateo said. “Our city is in crisis and at this point we’re just sick of people robbing, looting, assaulting, assaulting, killing our small business owners.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams also expressed his support for Alba, saying that after seeing video of the incident, he felt that Alba “was attacked and we have to take that into account when we make these decisions,” in July 8 radio interview. Adams said that while the NYPD made the arrest, it was ultimately up to the prosecutor’s office to decide whether to file charges.
“District prosecutors’ offices do not have a mandate. No one can dictate how they decide to file a case and it is never my role to interfere with the police. Since then I have never called the police to tell the police to arrest, not to arrest .. I don’t do that, regardless. Prosecutors are independent. My role is very clear,” Adams said.
New York Self Defense Law
Matteo said New York’s current laws involving the use of deadly force in self-defense need to change.
Criminal defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told CNN that under New York state law, a person can use deadly force to defend himself only if he “reasonably believes” that the person he is defending against will use deadly force.
The law also states that a person using deadly force to defend themselves has a “duty to retreat” from a threat, Lichtman said.
“The reason they arrested him is because their position was that the defendant did not face deadly force,” Lichtman said.
While Lichtman understands why Alba was charged under New York state law, he believes no reasonable juror would have convicted Alba of murder in this case.
“If I was defending him, I’d say, ‘This is an old, small guy, and there’s this very angry, very physical guy standing in front of him, pushing him around and obviously going to attack him. He felt like he was going to die, so he grabbed everything he could,” Lichtman said.
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