The chaotic scene inside a Harlem bodega begins with a bag of chips and a rejected e-card transaction. It ended in death.
A 35-year-old man, Austin Simon, walked behind the counter to confront a bodega employee, demanding an apology after the card was declined and the employee snatched the chips from his 10-year-old daughter. Simon’s girlfriend’s age. . Mr. Simon, who was unarmed, pushed the worker backwards, and in the ensuing scuffle, the worker stabbed him to death.
The worker, Jose Alba, 61, was charged with second-degree murder a day after a late-night confrontation on July 1. A week later, the case has made the latest headlines – for the front pages. tabloid and Mayor Eric Adams – in a city worried about the rise of serious crime.
Some city officials have criticized the decision of Manhattan district attorney Alvin L. Bragg to charge Alba with murder and initially ask for $500,000 bail. The arrival of surveillance video showing Mr Simon shoving Mr Alba raised the specter that Mr Alba was acting in self-defence.
On Friday, Mr. Adams expressed strong support for Mr. Alba in a WABC radio interview.
“This is the same message I’ve said over and over again: New Yorkers work hard and Americans who are honest with you shouldn’t be attacked in their workplace,” Adams said. “There’s a line that has to be drawn when you’re the main aggressor and that’s what I see on the video.”
The comments by Mr Adams, who was elected on the promise he would reduce crime, came a day after he held a news conference outside bodega and said he sided with “innocent New Yorkers” “, who want to ride the subway and go to work without fear of being attacked.
“We have enough people who are always ready to help those who break the law,” Mr. Adams said at the press conference. “I’m someone who’s always been there for those who follow the law.”
That day, Mr. Alba’s bail was reduced to $50,000; he was released that night. He was required to show his passport, stay in New York City, and wear a surveillance device.
Mr. Adams admitted to speaking with Mr. Bragg about the incident on Thursday, but representatives for both said they had not discussed bail amounts or fees.
Douglas Cohen, a spokesman for Mr. Bragg, said that discussions about changing Mr. Alba’s bail conditions began on Saturday after he was settled.
“We are continuing to review the evidence and the investigation is ongoing,” Cohen said in a statement.
Fabien Levy, a spokesman for Mr. Adams, said the mayor speaks regularly with all five of the city’s district attorneys and has spoken with Mr. Bragg “about the facts of this case.”
“While we do not discuss private conversations, the mayor respects the independence of all five DAs and would never seek to interfere with how they prosecute the case,” Mr. Levy added. .
Mr. Adams also recently spoke with the Staten Island district attorney after a man was arrested and charge of assault former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in a supermarket there. The charges against the man were later dropped after video showed him apparently patting Mr. Giuliani on the back.
Mr Adams’ involvement in the bodega case drew outrage from Mr Simon’s family, who accused him of using the deadly confrontation to further his political agenda.
“They’re just trying to paint a picture of this young black man actually redeeming his life as a criminal,” said Candra Simon, 38, a cousin who grew up in in the same Harlem building as Mr. Simon, said in an interview on Friday.
“He said in his comments that he can’t influence what the DA does and how he prosecutes, so you’ll do it to vote,” she added.
Ms. Simon has described her cousin as a father who has always been upfront about his life. She lost her father at the age of seven after her mother’s death, she added, adding that the loss made him extremely worried. When other loved ones died, he began to act, she said.
He had served time in prison for assault but told relatives that his most recent sentence would be the final one because he wanted to focus on his children, Ms. Simon said. He loves music, is funny and loves to socialize and wants a career in music and entertainment, she added.
After watching the videotape of the confrontation, Ms. Simon said she did not understand how Mr. Alba could claim the right to defend himself. While acknowledging that Mr. Simon should not have gone behind the counter to confront Mr. Alba, she said there was no evidence that her cousin had a weapon.
The criminal complaint against Alba says he stabbed Simon at least five times in the neck and chest. Mr. Simon’s girlfriend tried to pull Mr. Alba away from Mr. Simon during the confrontation and hold his right arm, but Mr. Alba continued to stab Mr. Simon, according to the complaint. She used a knife in her purse to stab Alba in the arm, the lawsuit said.
Later, the lawsuit said, Mr. Simon fell face first to the ground bleeding. He holds a small white handkerchief in his left hand and nothing in his right hand.
“It was a married man who was loved and he basically died protecting someone he cared about,” Ms. Simon said.
To claim the right to self-defense under New York State law, a person must be able to demonstrate that they believe their life is in danger, said Dmitriy Shakhnevich, assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. hazardous.
A defendant like Mr Alba needs to show that society as a whole will agree that he is in sufficient imminent danger to respond with force and that the force in question is not “excessive”.
There is also an “obligation to withdraw” in New York’s law, unlike some states that have “stand your ground” laws, Professor Shakhnevich noted. If a person in New York has a way out of a situation, they have to accept it, he said.
In the case of Mr. Alba and Mr. Simon, the video shows shoving, shoving and some threatening behavior by Mr. Simon, Professor Shakhnevich said. Because of the bodega’s small space, the retreat mission wouldn’t really apply, he added. But with the video lacking sound, there will be gaps in what is known about what the men said that night, the professor said.
“In a self-defeating case, the jury really wants to see a defendant testify,” he said. “And I believe that if the case goes to trial, the defendant will have to take a stand and he will have to tell his story.”
According to the criminal complaint, Mr Alba told investigators that Mr Simon had asked him to “come and apologize to the girl”.
Mr. Alba admitted to the murder, saying: “I took the knife we used to open the box and I stabbed him,” the lawsuit reads.
“The video in this case speaks for itself,” said Alice Fontier, executive director of Harlem’s Neighborhood Protection Service, which represents Mr. Alba.
“Mr. Alba was simply doing his job when he was cornered by a much younger and older man,” Ms. Fontier said in a statement. She added that Mr. Alba had immigrated. came to New York from the Dominican Republic 35 years ago and became a US citizen 18 years ago.
Ms. Simon said she was worried about whether her cousin’s killer would face retribution in the presence of the mayor.
“No weapons were found at the scene from my cousin but did he deserve it?” she speaks. “Mayor Adams will say that’s okay. He will set a precedent where disagreements in stores can end in salespeople killing people. “
Hurubie Meko contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy and Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
