Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brushed off The Post’s questions about Big Apple bodega employee Jose Alba on Monday — amid mounting pressure to drop murder charges against the worker.
The embattled prosecutor was silent when he arrived at his midtown Manhattan office Monday, walking briskly inside without saying a word until The Post asked if he had any comment on the controversial case of 61-year-old Jose Alba.
Bragg has faced a backlash since his office decided to charge Alba with second-degree murder in the killing of an ex-con who attacked him behind a Manhattan convenience store last week.
Surveillance footage of the fatal ordeal showed the bodega clerk struggling with an enraged Austin Simon, 35, just moments before Alba stabbed him at the Hamilton Heights grocery store on July 1.
Surveillance video from Friday night at the Hamilton Heights grocery store on Broadway and 139th. Representatives of United Bodegas of America revealed over the weekend that they will meet with Bragg on Tuesday. District Attorney Alvin Bragg ignored questions about New York bodega worker Jose Alba as he arrived at work this morning. Stefan Jeremiah for New York
New video obtained by The Post on Sunday appears to show Simon’s girlfriend pulling a knife from her purse and stabbing Alba in the shoulder during the chaos.
Simon later died in hospital from his stab wounds, and Alba was immediately arrested and charged.
The slain former inmate’s girlfriend has not been charged in the case.
Jose Alba walks out of the Tombs and into the custody of the New York Sheriff’s Department on July 7, 2022 in New York City. Alec Tabak
Representatives of United Bodegas of America revealed over the weekend that they will meet with Bragg on Tuesday to plead with him to drop the charges against Alba, claiming it was a case of self-defense.
The group also suggested the Big Apple adopt a local version of Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law after Alba’s arrest.
“Mr. Alba was clearly defending himself against a younger and stronger man who attacked him,” said UBA president Radhames Rodríguez.
“Mr Alba had no time to think when his life was in danger. The videos clearly show who the aggressor is in this case. Austin Simon went behind the counter to beat Jose Alba and possibly kill him, Jose just defended himself with whatever he could get his hands on.
Alba was initially held at Riker Island on $250,000 bail until Bragg’s office negotiated a reduced amount that allowed him to secure $5,000 bail as a result of the widespread surveillance.
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