I am not sure why the bodega worker is in jail.
I have watched the graphic video, and it is clear that he feared for his life and was trapped in that situation. Austin Simon, a career criminal, had invaded his space and had already assaulted him before Alba stabbed him.
Alba’s intent wasn’t to kill him but to get out of the situation.
It is crazy that he is in jail now.
A hard-working Manhattan bodega clerk who was forced to grab a knife to fend off a violent ex-con, now finds himself sitting behind bars at the notorious Rikers Island jail charged with murder and unable to post $250,000 bail.
The sky-high bail for Jose Alba — who has no known criminal history — was just half of what controversial Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office demanded, despite surveillance video showing the clerk being assaulted by his alleged victim in the bodega.
Alba, 51, was charged with the fatal stabbing of Austin Simon, 35, who can be seen storming behind the counter at the Hamilton Heights Grocery on Broadway and West 139th Street to attack the store worker Friday night.
The harrowing incident followed an argument Alba had with Simon’s girlfriend, whose EBT debit card was declined when she tried to use it to buy chips for her 10-year-old daughter at the store, police and law enforcement sources said.
The 32-year-old woman claimed Alba grabbed the snack out of her daughter’s hand — so she knocked over items on the counter and ran home to get Simon, who stormed into the bodega and attacked Alba about 10 minutes later.
During the fight, Simon’s girlfriend allegedly stabbed the worker in the shoulder with a knife she had in her purse, according to Alba’s defense attorney — but she is not facing charges.
Simon, meanwhile, was already on parole for assaulting a cop at the time of the deadly encounter — and has at least eight prior busts, including for assault, robbery, and assault during a domestic dispute, sources and records show.
Watch the video yourself and come to your own conclusions.
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