Manhattan District
Attorney Alvin Bragg has asked a judge to dismiss murder charges against Jose
Alba – a bodega worker who fatally stabbed a man who attacked him while he was
working on July 1.
Alba had faced one
count of second-degree murder after he was arrested on July 2.
According to the
complaint, Austin Simon, 35, was fatally stabbed by Alba after Simon had
approached the bodega worker behind the counter at the Blue Moon Convenient
Store. Minutes earlier, Alba had a confrontation with Simon’s girlfriend and
her daughter over a “malfunctioning Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Card” and
pulled a snack from the hand of the 10-year-old.
Simon
is seen on surveillance video shoving Alba and grabbing him before Alba grabs a
knife and stabs him repeatedly.
“After investigation,
the District Attorney's Office has concluded that a homicide case against Alba
could not be proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the
People will not be presenting the case to the grand jury, and hereby move to
dismiss the Criminal Court complaint.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat
issued a statement:
“Jose Alba’s case did
not go unnoticed, and I commend District Attorney Bragg for today’s motion to
the court to dismiss Mr. Alba’s case following his review of the evidence.”