New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a motion to dismiss second-degree murder charges against bodega clerk Jose Alba. The story surrounding Mr. Alba’s arrest has gone viral along with a surveillance video that captured the incident. Mr. Alba was working behind the counter at the Manhattan/Harlem area bodega when a woman came in with her daughter and attempted to purchase a bag of chips. The woman used her EBT (Government benefits) card but the card did not work. Either there was not enough money on the card or there was some sort of malfunction. A series of events transpired after this that prompted the woman to alert her boyfriend of the situation. That’s when everything went entirely downhill.
The boyfriend, a 35-year-old black male, immediately went behind the counter to confront 61-year-old Dominican Jose Alba. Surveillance footage showed the boyfriend become irate at Mr. Alba before shoving him down into the chair immediately behind the register. The male hovered over Mr. Alba for a while, apparently shouting obscenities at him the entire time. Mr. Alba attempted to get up and walk past the attacker at a certain point and the attacker refused to let him go. This prompted Jose Alba to produce a knife in order to defend himself against the attacker. The “boyfriend” was stabbed multiple times and wound up dying. Mr. Alba was promptly arrested for second-degree murder charges and taken to Riker’s Island jail. He was also stabbed during the incident by the girlfriend who started the whole matter with the refused EBT card. She was never arrested or charged with a crime.
National Association of Latino State Chambers of Commerce, an organization that represents Bodegas across the country, jumped out in front of this case to raise awareness about it almost immediately. Social media influencers also chimed in to give their opinion about the apparent lack of justice. New York City Mayor Eric Adams made an appearance in front of the store to support the “law-abiding citizen” Jose Alba. So many factors weighed in on this case from the outside that it probably gave NY DA Alvin Bragg no choice but to drop the charges. Some argue that this decision may be too little too late due to the damage that has already been done. Alba’s family had to raise thousands of dollars to grant him bail from Riker’s Island. When Alba was in jail, the wounds from the stabbing he received from the woman (who has still not been arrested) became infected. Yes, this decision signals justice, but it may be justice deferred.
SOURCES:
Alvin Bragg to drop charges against bodega worker Jose Alba
Manhattan DA moves to drop murder charge against NYC bodega worker in deadly stabbing | Fox News
Bodega Clerk Who Fatally Stabbed Man Will Not Face Charges – The New York Times
Murder charges dropped against Harlem bodega worker Jose Alba
Manhattan DA’s office dropping charges against Jose Alba, bodega worker accused of murder – CBS New York
Comments are closed.