Murder Charges Dropped for Bodega Clerk

JUL 19 2022·Updated JUL 20 2022

Story

Image credit: NYC criminal court [via Fox News]

The Facts

On Tues., charges against a bodega worker who fatally stabbed a man earlier this month were dropped by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office - and formally dismissed by a judge - after his defense team argued he acted in self-defense.
CNN
Jose Alba had been charged with second-degree murder after stabbing 35-year-old Austin Simon on July 1.
CNN
The incident allegedly started when Alba took a snack away from the daughter of Simon's girlfriend after her payment was declined. Simon allegedly demanded an apology from Alba.
Newsweek
Surveillance video showed Simon going behind the bodega counter and shoving Alba before being stabbed. Although Investigators determined that Simon was unarmed, footage showed his girlfriend stabbing Alba's arm.
CNN
The decision to drop the charges was reportedly made as there was no way to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that Alba wasn't justified in using deadly force.
Newsweek
DA Alvin Bragg's decision to press charges drew outrage from other bodega owners, and many politicians and media outlets of various political persuasions.
FOX News

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

It's about time Bragg, who has rarely acquiesced to public pressure, made the right decision. While this George Soros-backed liberal prosecutor has been in office enacting his soft-on-crime policies, homicides and shootings have soared in NYC, and business owners have the right to defend themselves.

Washington Free Beacon

Narrative B

These cases are never as cut-and-dry as some in the public or media make them out to be - even when there's surveillance video. A man died and the least the prosecutor's office owed him was an investigation, which it pulled off quickly. Bragg was right to take his time in the face of a difficult decision.