Last week we wrote about the case of Jose Alba, a 61-year-old New York bodega clerk who defended himself from an attack by a younger, larger, stronger man. The attack was captured by the store’s security cameras (see it here).
When the attacker died, New York City’s far left District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Alba with murder. Yes, murder. That prosecutorial decision resulted a metric sh!tstorm of criticism by everyone in the city from Alba’s fellow bodega clerks and store owners to Mayor Eric Adams.
We expected the political firestorm to ultimately be too intense to continue the prosecution, particularly in the face of video evidence of the defensive nature of the altercation by Alba. Sure enough, today DA Bragg ate a heaping helping of delicious crow and dropped the charge against Alba.
From the New York Post . . .
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg finally dropped the controversial murder charge against bodega worker Jose Alba on Tuesday — with his office conceding there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute the case that sparked widespread outrage.
The DA’s office filed a motion in Manhattan Criminal Court to dismiss the case against the 61-year-old bodega worker after an investigation found it couldn’t prove the “defendant was not justified in his use of deadly physical force.”
You don’t say.
Bragg and his office faced backlash after Alba was swiftly charged with fatally stabbing 35-year-old violent ex-con Austin Simon, who had attacked Alba inside the Hamilton Heights Grocery on July 1.
Backlash is putting it mildly.
All’s well that ends well…other than the fact that Alba had to spend days in the hellhole that is Riker’s Island and deal with the expense of mounting a defense, along with the fear and uncertainty that comes with being charged with murder.
However, with tens of thousands of New Yorkers newly interested and anxious to exercise their Second Amendment rights, don’t expect the District Attorney to back off of a bodega clerk who similarly uses ballistic deterrence to defend himself. At least not without even more of a fight.
If the city and state’s foot-stoping reaction to losing the Bruen decision is any indication, they’ll be much more likely to go after a gun owner for defending himself to the fullest extent possible — no matter how justified the situation may be. They’ll use the process as punishment wherever possible, even given similarly exculpatory evidence to that which ultimately cleared Jose Alba.
Let’s hope that when it happens — and it will — the defender has a good concealed carry insurance policy. He’ll probably need it.