Manhattan DA Drops Charges Against Bodega Worker Who Stabbed Man in Self-Defense

George Soros-funded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) dropped charges against Jose Alba, the New York City bodega worker who stabbed a man to death in self-defense.

Breitbart News reported that 35-year-old Austin Simon came into a New York City bodega on July 1, 2022, and allegedly went behind the counter after his girlfriend couldn’t make a purchase because her benefits card was declined.

The New York Times notes that a confrontation ensued in which Simon allegedly pushed Alba, who responded by fatally stabbing the aggressor.

Bragg arrested and charged Alba with second-degree murder, originally setting his bail at $250,000. But subsequent emergence of surveillance video “[raises] the specter that Mr. Alba was acting in self-defense.”

On July 8, 2022, NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) spoke to WABC in support of Alba:

This is the same message that I’ve been stating over and over again: that hard-working New Yorkers, and Americans to be honest with you, should not be attacked in their place of work. There is a line that must be drawn when you are a primary aggressor and that is what I saw on the video.

On July 19, 2022, Bragg dropped all charges against Alba.

FOX News reported, “Jennifer Sigall, assistant district attorney under Bragg, issued a motion Tuesday morning to dismiss the second-degree murder charge against Alba and provided a copy to his attorney, Michelle Villasenor-Grant.”

Breitbart News noted that 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.