Simon’s girlfriend had left the store after her payment was declined while trying to buy a snack for her daughter and returned to the store with Simon. The New York Post obtained surveillance video of the incident and reported that the woman can be heard saying, “my n—– is going to come down here now and I’m going to pick you up” just before Simon came into the store. According to the complaint, surveillance video showed Simon holding a white towel in one hand, walking into the area behind the counter where Alba was sitting and then pushing him. “Mr Simon then put the towel in his pocket and tried to lead the defendant out of the area behind the counter but the defendant took a kitchen knife which was hidden behind the counter and stabbed Mr Simon in the neck and chest at least five times,” the complaint states. The complaint states that Simon’s girlfriend tried to pull Alba away from Simon by holding his right arm, but he continued to stab Simon. The complaint states that Simon’s girlfriend, who has not been named, then took a knife from her purse and stabbed Alba. He is not currently facing charges, according to a prosecutor’s office spokesman. Simon died later that night “from stab wounds to his neck and torso,” the complaint states. “He wanted me to come and apologize to the girl. I took the knife we ​​use to open boxes and stabbed him,” Alba told an investigator, according to the complaint. Alba was arrested by police on July 2 and charged with one count of second-degree murder. Alba did not comment, according to Emily Whitfield, a spokeswoman for his attorney. Alice Fontier, executive director of Harlem Neighborhood Advocates, which provides legal services to the community and represents Alba, said in a statement to CNN that Alba was acting in self-defense during the incident. “The video in this case speaks for itself: Mr. Alba was simply doing his job when he was aggressively cornered by a much younger and older man,” Fontier said in the statement.
Alba has worked in bodegas since he immigrated to New York 35 years ago from the Dominican Republic in search of a better life, Fontier said, adding that he has worked at the bodega where the incident occurred for three years. “He worked hard to earn American citizenship 18 years ago and has been a constant source of support for his children and grandchildren,” Fondier said. Prosecutors moved to reduce Alba’s bail after the clerk was held at Riker’s Island for several days, saying at a hearing that they were in talks with a defense attorney to find a bail package that balanced the facts of the case. She was released on $50,000 bail, partially secured by the owners of the bodega where Alba worked. Doug Cohen, a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, told CNN: “We are continuing to review the evidence and the investigation is ongoing.” Alba is due back in court on July 20.

The group is urging the DA to drop the murder charge

On Sunday, Fernando Mateo, speaking on behalf of United Bodegas of America, said he and other representatives of the organization are expected to meet with the Manhattan district attorney’s office to urge prosecutors to drop the charge in Alba’s murder. “Jose Alba has our full support,” Mateo said. “Our city is in crisis and at this point we are tired of people robbing, looting, assaulting, assaulting, killing our small business owners.” New York City Mayor Eric Adams also voiced his support for Alba, saying that after seeing surveillance video of the incident, he felt Alba “was assaulted and we have to take that into account when we make these decisions,” in July. 8 radio interview. Adams said that while the NYPD made the arrest, it is ultimately up to the DA to decide whether to proceed with charges. “DAs don’t have a mandate. No one can dictate how they decide to prosecute a case, and my role is never to interfere with the police. I’ve never called the police since then to tell the police to arrest, not to arrests I don’t do that, it’s independent. The DAs are independent. My role is very clear,” Adams said.

New York Self Defense Law

Matteo said current New York laws involving the use of deadly force in self-defense must be changed.
Criminal defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told CNN that under New York state law, a person can use deadly force to defend himself only if he “reasonably believed” that the person he was defending himself from is going to use deadly force. The law also states that a person who uses deadly force in self-defense has a “duty to retreat” from a threat, Lichtman said. “The reason they arrested him was because their position was that the defendant was not facing deadly force,” Lichtman said. While Lichtman understands why Alba was charged under New York state law, he believes no reasonable juror would have convicted Alba of murder in this case. “If I was defending him, I’d say, ‘This is an old, small man and he’s got a very angry, very physical guy standing in front of him, pushing him around and clearly ready to attack him. He felt like he was about to die, so he grabbed whatever he could,” Lichtman said.