Home » News » Hispanic who killed a client in a fight over fries in a warehouse was released on bail; Mayor of New York supports him in the controversy

Hispanic who killed a client in a fight over fries in a warehouse was released on bail; Mayor of New York supports him in the controversy


Ambulance and NYPD patrol in Harlem.

Photo: Andrés Correa Guatarasma / Courtesy

José Alba, the Dominican worker who fatally stabbed an ex-convict who attacked him in a warehouse during an argument over some fries, was released yesterday after leaving Rikers Island after his bail was lowered amid the controversial case.

The fatal attack on Friday night, July 1, at a warehouse in Harlem was captured on dramatic security video. Caution is advised when looking at the crude images.

A support page for the costs of his defense and bail had been created, but it was deactivated. “Our terms of service prohibit the raising of funds for the legal defense of a violent crime,” said a spokesman for GoFundMe.

In the midst of the controversy of a case that adds to the daily violence in New York, yesterday Mayor Eric Adams issued words in favor of Alba. During an unrelated news conference, he said he “cannot dictate or dictate” how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg prosecutes crimes, but added that his “heart goes out with tears” for the “hardworking and honest ” accused.

“This New Yorker was doing his job and someone aggressively went behind the counter to attack him”

Mayor Eric Adams, on Dominican José Alba

“I hope we take all of that into consideration, as this New York worker was doing his job and someone aggressively went behind the counter to attack him,” Adams said. “I support the innocent and hardworking people who are doing their job. And I saw him as an innocent, hard-working New Yorker who had a person go behind the counter and attack him.” also yesterday the mayor visited the warehouse where the deadly confrontation took place.

Following the fatality in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood, Alba (61) claimed to have acted in self-defense. He was detained at Rikers Island charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Bail was originally set at $250,000, later reduced to $50,000, which his family was able to pay with the help of his boss.

Alba “She has every intention of going back to court and defending this case,” her attorney, Danielle Jackson, of the Harlem Neighborhood Advocate Service, said in court.

Under New York state law, Alba would have had to be released yesterday, Thursday, since prosecutors had yet to present the second-degree murder case to a grand jury, but they could delay the presentation if he were free on bail, he explained. New York Post.

In the shocking video, Alba is seen serving customers behind the counter at the “Blue Moon” grocery store in 3422 Broadway con 139th Street, when suddenly confronted by Austin Simon (37), who entered his private work area, on friday around 11 pm

Apparently the Hispanic employee had gotten into an argument with a woman who had had some fries, but didn’t have enough cash to pay. Due to her frustration, the client left the premises with her child and called Simon, but the relationship between the two was not described.

Before reaching the physical confrontation, the two men yelled at each other, until Simon entered the area behind the counter, where he allegedly Alba took a knife and stabbed the invader repeatedly, according to NYPD and security video.

Simon was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, with wounds on the chest and one on the neck. He had prior arrests, including for robbery and assault, and served time in state prison in 2016 for assaulting a police officer. It was the first of two stabbing homicides recorded that night in the city.

In New York, the interior and surroundings of warehouses are frequently crime scenes, both robberies and homicides. attacks are common to employees and customers.

in January, A woman and her pit bull dog were killed in a shooting inside a Brooklyn grocery store. At the end of November, an 18-year-old died after being shot several timesbeing a client of a warehouse in Staten Island (NYC). And in October, a Immigrant store clerk stabbed to death in East Harlem, in an apparent argument over 50 cents off the price of a cigarette.

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