NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has asked a judge to drop the murder charge against Jose Alba, the bodega worker who fatally stabbed an attacker during a confrontation this month.
Alba, 61, had been charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon after the deadly dispute inside the Blue Moon Convenience Store in Hamilton Heights on July 1.
"Following an investigation, the People have determined that we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not justified in his use of deadly physical force," wrote Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sigall in a motion to dismiss on Tuesday.
The father-of-three killed Austin Simon, 35, after he went behind the counter of the West 139th Street and Broadway bodega and shoved Alba.
Alba eventually grabbed a knife and stabbed Simon in the heart, lung and jugular vein, according to the prosecutor's motion.
"After investigation, the District Attorney's Office has concluded that a homicide case against Alba could not be proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt," according to the motion. "Consequently, the People will not be presenting the case to the grand jury, and hereby move to dismiss the Criminal Court complaint."
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Tuesday's motion said the dispute with Simon began because he believed that Alba had "harshly treated" the 10-year-old daughter of Simon's girlfriend. Alba had pulled a snack out of the 10-year-old’s hand after the girlfriend's EBT card was declined.
"Minutes after the girlfriend left angrily, Simon came to the store, entered the small, employees-only area behind the counter, shoved Alba against a wall of shelving, and grabbed him by the collar to lift him out of a chair and force him out of the employees-only area, saying that he wanted Alba to apologize to the girl," the motion continued. "With Simon holding him by the collar and forcibly pushing him out, Alba grabbed a knife from a shelf beside the counter and repeatedly stabbed Simon as they struggled."
Simon was later pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital.
Despite consistently maintaining that he acted in self-defense, Alba was arrested and initially held on $250,000 bail before it was reduced to $50,000 and he was released.
The DA's move comes after Alba's arrest made national news amid a public outcry, including from Mayor Eric Adams.
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