Insiders allege that the girlfriend of a gangster who was fatally stabbed by a bodega store employee he attacked has not been indicted because prosecutors believe she was defending her boyfriend.
Jose Alba, who was the victim of a violent assault in Manhattan on July 1, was stabbed three times by a 32-year-old woman who has not yet been identified.
She called her boyfriend Austin Simon, who vaulted the counter and charged at the 61-year-old cashier in shocking video, which then shows her fighting with him.
However, Alba was able to seize a sharp weapon and stab Simon in the neck and chest out of self-defense before being taken into custody and charged with murder.
According to insiders, prosecutors believe the woman was defending her boyfriend when she attacked the shop clerk, which is why she was not charged with assault.
It happens at a time when New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been charged with adopting a lenient stance toward violent offenders in recent weeks.
The District Attorney’s office examined the tape, and they believed she was protecting her partner, a police source told the New York Post. They believed that no charges were required.
Supporters of Alba were outraged by the action and questioned why she had dodged prosecution while the store employee was facing prison.
I don’t understand why the [district attorney] hasn’t charged her,’ said Francisco Marte of the Bodega and Small Business Association Group.
She took part in that. The $250,000 bail [Alba once faced] should be on her, not on him, because she’s supposed to be behind bars. He was merely protecting himself.
Michael Discioarro, a defense attorney, continued, “I have no idea why she is not charged.
“The aggressor was her boyfriend. She is not permitted to defend the aggressor.
We’re seeing how the system functions for the typical user, he said. “Pretend there was no video.”
“[Simon’s girlfriend] would testify against him, probably lying, and Jose Alba would never be let out of Rikers.”
It occurs as Alba returns to her New York City home after being let out of Rikers Island last week on a reduced bond.
On July 1, Simon charged into the business to attack him, and he stabbed Simon in the neck and chest out of self-defense.
Alba had just turned down a bag of chips for Simon’s girlfriend.
Her credit card was rejected when she attempted to pay for the $3 snack.
He did not want his face to be photographed on Monday, but he displayed his wounds in his New York City residence.
He has a gash on his shoulder, significant bruises, and a graze on his upper arm.
It happens after fresh surveillance footage surfaced revealing the woman attacking him with her own knife as he struggled to defend himself from her partner.
He asked Simon’s family for forgiveness while speaking gently from behind his apartment door.
I didn’t anticipate this happening.
I was stunned at the time. I was at a loss for words and actions. I’m depressed.
I wasn’t planning on doing this. This took place. Right now, I’m unsure of how it occurred.
But I’m also dejected.
I can relate to the suffering because I also lost a son. I apologize, but I didn’t mean to do that.
Mayor Eric Adams is among the supporters of Alba who argue that it was clearly self-defense and that he shouldn’t have been detained.
Alba’s bond was reduced from $250,000 to $50,000 following considerable outcry last week, and he was released after posting the required 10%.
Other recordings depict Simon, who was on parole for assaulting a police officer at the time of his death, approaching Alba from behind the bodega counter.
Alba said calmly, “Papa, I don’t want a problem, papa.”
After his girlfriend attempted to buy a bag of chips for her daughter but her benefits card was rejected, Simon stormed into the Blue Moon convenience store.
On the video, the woman who alleged that Alba kidnapped the child’s bag of chips can be heard asking Alba, “Did you put food?”
He’ll give her card another shot, Alba replies.
“All right, mama, let me try again. She says, “There’s money on there,” and he responds, “My God.”
But after many scans, he hands the card back to her and informs her that it is inoperable.
The woman can be heard screaming out of view from the camera as the edited video switches to other customers in the bodega.
You must not handle my daughter.
That belongs to my kid; don’t take it from her, you f-king piece of sh*t!
When they were unable to make a payment, the mother claimed that Alba yanked the bag of chips out of her daughter’s hands.
I’m going to bring my n- down here, and he’s going to f-k you up, she continues. Right now, my n— is going to come down here and f— you up.
Alba explains to her that the card wasn’t working and that it wasn’t his fault.
Did they take anything from you, a different woman inquired?
No, I take it back, Alba retorted.
On the footage, Simon can then be seen barging into the shop and approaching Alba from behind the counter.
“What’s going on, dude? What’s wrong with you, N—r? At him, he yells.
In previously shown video, the altercation between the two men starts when Simon enters the store’s back room and pushes Alba onto a chair.
Alba seized the box cutter from the shop and used it to stab the man in the neck and chest. Later, Simon passed away at a hospital.
It pans to a bleeding Simon sprawled out on the bodega floor in the new video footage.
That was over $3. Three f-king dollars, his girlfriend is heard yelling. He took something from my kid… Please assist him.
After his bond was reduced from $250,000 to $50,000, Alba was freed from Rikers Island on Thursday evening.
He was accompanied by one of his kids and returned to his Hamilton Heights home while wearing an electronic monitor.
The only sum he had to pay was $5,000.
Owner of the bodega Osamah Aldhabyani, 35, admitted to The Post that the incident haunted him and that he was concerned about possible reprisal from Simon’s buddies because he saw two of them in a car outside the business.
I’m afraid for my life, he declared.
Because they worry that the victim’s buddies may come and hurt him, Alba’s coworkers at the bodega stated they won’t let him come back to work.
Wilson, a worker at the Blue Moon Convenience shop, told the New York Post, “We’re not letting him come back.”
Wilson claimed that Alba’s employees fear a “death sentence” if he returns to his position because his victim’s “friends and family” now know where he works.
Wilson claimed that if he were compelled to defend himself, he might find himself in a similar scenario to Alba.
Why is [Alba] being held accountable?
He was at his job. Workers are now even more frightened as a result. I could experience this. We’re working right now.
We are terrified. He told the New York Post, “We have to defend ourselves.
He was working; he wasn’t searching for problems. What is he to accomplish?
That person was capable of anything… Alba is a senior citizen. It’s not right.
Wilson also expressed concern about the city’s expanding gun issue, stating he had no idea “who owns a gun” in the area.
Additionally, he claimed that the workers’ only goals are to “earn money and serve the community,” not to deal with violence.
Another employee, Escoo, advised the Post that they should think about using self-defense.
“We are putting our lives at danger to serve the community.”
Alba was placed in custody and held on a $250,000 bond after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office requested double that amount, despite allowing other career criminals off the hook.
Today, a Manhattan court eventually reduced Alba’s bond after widespread indignation over the decision, and he was freed to his home.