A hard-working Manhattan bodega clerk who was
forced to grab a knife to fend off a violent ex-con, now finds himself sitting behind bars at the notorious Rikers Island jail charged with murder and unable to post $250,000 bail.
The sky-high bail for Jose Alba — who has no known criminal history — was just half of what controversial Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office demanded, despite surveillance video showing the clerk being assaulted by his alleged victim in the bodega.
Alba, 51, was charged with the fatal stabbing of Austin Simon, 34, who can be seen storming behind the counter at the Hamilton Heights Grocery on Broadway and West 139th Street to attack the store worker Friday night.
“It was either him or the guy at the moment,” Alba’s daughter Yulissa told The Post Wednesday, saying it was a case of self-defense.
He’s never hurt anybody. He’s never had an altercation where he had to defend himself. This is the first time for him.”
The harrowing incident followed an argument Alba had with Simon’s girlfriend, whose EBT debit card was declined when she tried to use it to buy chips for her 10-year-old daughter at the store, police and law enforcement sources said.
The 32-year-old woman claimed Alba grabbed the snack out of her daughter’s hand — so she knocked over items on the counter and ran home to get Simon, who stormed into the bodega and attacked Alba about 10 minutes later.
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.
nypost.com
