UPDATE
Jose Alba’s bail was lowered and he’s out of Rikers. Now, dismiss the charges:
Some good news – he is out of Riker's. https://t.co/KDdv2XJkc6
— LB (@beyondreasdoubt) July 7, 2022
ORIGINAL POST
Are we missing something here? Because the reporting and video make it pretty clear that Jose Alba, 51, acting in self-defense when he was attacked inside his store earlier this week:
My God, just when you think they can't go lower: A bodega owner who defended himself from an ex-con is in Rikers on $250K bail. It's not enough to let career criminals loose—if you don't submit to their attacks, YOU will go to jail. The absolute depravity.https://t.co/GYbeRT4tUb
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) July 7, 2022
Here’s the video. One, why is he at Rikers Island at all, and two, $250,000 bail for someone with no criminal history? Here’s the video (warning: graphic content):
NYC Bodega worker (Jose Alba) is attacked by an irate customer (Austin Simon). He kills him in self defense and is now being charged with murder and held on $250K bail he can't afford. pic.twitter.com/OYjI8S4Ye5
— Stefanie Kammerman/The Stock Whisperer (@VolumePrintcess) July 7, 2022
He should just have let the guy beat the snot out of him?
Bodega worker is at Rikers bc he defended himself instead of taking his beating. https://t.co/aTtgTsNcCo
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) July 5, 2022
Oh, and it gets worse. According to the New York Post, the girlfriend of the man stabbed to death also stabbed Alba, but she’s not facing any charges:
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.
Bragg’s office, however, charged Alba, a dad of three who moved to the US from the Dominican Republic 30 years ago searching for a better life, with second-degree murder. He became a US citizen 14 years ago.
“It would not be that surprising that someone thinks that harm is going to come to them or that they are going to be robbed, particularly if the woman that you just got into a verbal argument with is also with this person, and ended up taking her own knife out of a purse and stabbing my client,” Alba’s attorney Michelle Villasenor-Grant said at his arraignment Saturday.
Still, the gal pal-instigator is free while Alba could go away for 15 to 25 years if convicted on the second-degree murder charge.
New York City councilmember Joe Borelli called out NYC District Attorney Alvin Bragg over the case:
Bonafide crap DA @AlvinBraggNYC had no issue seeking high cash ball for this bodega owner assaulted in & defending his store…
'suppose its easier to defend that than address how his Zero Consequences For Career Thieves policy likely lead to this incidenthttps://t.co/IypP0iEPlY— Joe Borelli (@JoeBorelliNYC) July 6, 2022
New York City, you’re broken:
"Get caught with an illegal gun, get released without bail. Shove an elderly person to the ground, attack someone because they are Asian, a slap on the wrist. But defend yourself and your business from a man who attacks you, and Bragg sends you to Rikers."https://t.co/7aTU0O1vQf
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) July 7, 2022
Jose Alba is the VICTIM here!
These prosecutors think their job is to prosecute the victims of crime. Just let that sink in.
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) July 7, 2022
We trust that the grand jury will end this farce right quick, but he shouldn’t have to go through it all:
They demand the presumption of innocence for the guy out on parole for assaulting a cop with a rap sheet including assault, robbery, and assault during a domestic dispute, but the guy who's only crime IN HIS LIFE was protecting himself is held on $250,000 bail. Absolute depravity
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) July 7, 2022
Yep:
Siding with criminals over their helpless victims is why this bodega owner had to defend himself in the first place. Progressive DAs have totally abandoned the rule of law because it makes their rich white constituents feel good while poor Black and Hispanic people pay the price.
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) July 7, 2022
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member