Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has finally dropped a controversial murder charge against bodega worker Jose Alba, his office confirmed Monday.
The DA’s office said it filed a motion in Manhattan Criminal Court to dismiss the case against the 61-year-old bottle worker after an investigation found they could not prove “the defendant was not justified in using deadly physical force.” .
Bragg and his office faced widespread backlash after Alba was quickly accused of fatally stabbing 35-year-old violent ex-con Austin Simon, who attacked him at the store on July 1.
The decision to drop the charge comes weeks after The Post highlighted Alba’s plight, which saw the hard-working bodega employee initially holed up on Rikers Island on a whopping $250,000 bond.
“If it wasn’t for the NY Post. Mr. Alba would still be in prison,” said Frank Garcia, president of the National Association of Latin American Chambers of Commerce.
Jose Alba was accused of fatally stabbing violent ex-con Austin Simon. Alec Tabak Austin Simon attacked Jose Alba in the store on July 1st.
In the motion to dismiss the case, the DA’s office included surveillance footage from inside the bottle showing Alba trying to avoid a confrontation with the much younger man in the moments before the bottle worker armed himself with a knife.
The motion also notes that Alba could argue at trial that he acted in self-defense, an argument the bodega worker has been making since his arrest.
“One potential defense is that Alba reasonably believed that Simon was about to use deadly physical force,” the dismissal memo noted.
“The law provides that a person may use deadly physical force to defend himself if the person reasonably believes that another person is using or is about to use deadly physical force.”
“…Simon’s behavior of going into the small private part of the shop, throwing Alba against the wall in a place he couldn’t escape, and grabbing him by the collar, could have instilled deep fear in an older and shorter man about what might be next,” the movement continued.
Jose Alba at the bodega on the night of the fatal stabbing.
The request also suggests that Alba may have assumed he was about to be robbed — and that Simon may have actually committed a crime by cornering the store worker behind the counter.
“In New York, it is a crime to use physical force to intentionally restrict a person’s movements by moving them from one place to another or by confining them,” the proposal states.
“…if Alba reasonably believed that Simon was committing or attempting to commit a burglary of an inhabited building, then Alba was permitted to use deadly physical force against Simon if Alba reasonably believed it was necessary to prevent or terminate the commission of the burglary with a burglary. “
Alvin Bragg’s office said it has filed a motion in Manhattan Criminal Court to dismiss the case. Craig Ruttle/AP
As outrage over Alba’s case has gathered momentum in recent weeks, demonstrators have gathered outside City Hall and New York bodega groups have even called on the state to adopt a local version of Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Stand.”
United Bodegas of America spokesman Fernando Mateo welcomed Bragg’s decision Monday, telling The Post he believes the prosecutor will “do the right thing.”
“He saw the judge and the jury on the video. He did the right thing, congratulations Alvin Bragg. He proved people wrong,” Matteo said.
Francisco Mata, head of the Bodega and Small Business Association, said Bragg personally called him Monday morning to inform him he would drop the charges against Alba.
“I’m really happy with the result. He said he has conducted an investigation and will withdraw the charges,” Matta said.
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