NYC Bodega Worker Who Fought Off Ex-Convict Freed on Reduced Bail

The Manhattan bodega worker held on a murder charge after an altercation with an ex-convict was freed Thursday thanks to reduced bail.

Jose Alba’s family posted the lowered sum with help from his boss following a court hearing, the New York Post reported Thursday.

The report continued:

Alba, 61, was sent to Rikers Island on a whopping $250,000 bail — half of what prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office had requested at his arraignment Saturday night, claiming the worker was a flight risk because of a planned trip to the Dominican Republic next week.

Under state law, Alba would have had to be released Thursday as prosecutors had not yet presented the second-degree murder case to the grand jury — but they could delay the presentation if he was free on bail.

In January, Bragg informed staff members his office would not seek pre-trial detention or prison sentences for crimes other than homicide and some exceptional cases, according to Breitbart News.

“Bragg was elected in November 2021 with indirect backing from left-wing billionaire George Soros, who gave $1 million to the Color of Change PAC, which spent to elect Bragg,” the outlet said.

According to the Post article, prosecutors negotiated an updated bail package with Alba’s lawyer, asking the judge to lower it to $50,000.

However, Alba must wear an ankle bracelet and hand over his passport. The judge also prohibited him from leaving the five boroughs.

During the initial incident, Alba was working behind the counter at the store when Austin Simon, who was on parole for assaulting an officer, went behind the counter and shoved him, slamming him into a wall and knocking him down. Alba fell into a chair at that point.

Alba then gets up and turns away from Simon, but Simon grabbed hold of him again. However, the older man picked up a knife and allegedly stabbed Simon several times.

Surveillance video showed the scene unfold:

Alba’s attorney alleges that Simon’s girlfriend stabbed Alba three times, but the woman has not been charged in the case.

Alba should be honored for his actions, Guardian Angels founder and former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa told the Post.

“Instead, he’s locked up on Rikers and this is all Alvin Bragg. He turns loose real criminals and he incarcerates victims who fight back. What kind of a message is this?” he added.

Alba, who immigrated from the Dominican Republic 30 years ago, has not been able to return to work at the bodega due to concerns that he might be targeted for retaliation by associates of his assailant, according to the New York Post.