All charges dropped against 61-year-old NYC deli worker Jose Alba who fatally stabbed bigger, younger attacker



The office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday morning dropped all charges against 61-year-old deli worker Jose Alba who fatally stabbed an attacker earlier this month, the New York Times reported.

What are the details?

Bragg's office charged Alba with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon and sent him to notorious Rikers Island prison despite video that shows a much larger and younger man — 35-year-old Austin Simon — going behind the counter of a Harlem deli July 1 and physically attacking Alba who works there.

In fact, additional video shows Alba pleading with an angry Simon, "I don't want a problem" before Simon aggressively shoved Alba into store shelves and grabbed him by the neck.

Image source: TeaTenders video screenshot

Image source: TeaTenders video screenshot

Simon was incensed that Alba took potato chips away from the 10-year-old daughter of Simon's girlfriend whose benefits card failed to work in the transaction.

'Homicide case ... could not be proven'

Bragg's office was intensely criticized for Alba's murder charge, his stint on Rikers, and the $250,000 bail Alba would have to raise to get out. One of Alba's defenders was Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who called Alba "innocent."

Soon, Alba was released on a reduced $50,000 bail and maintained he was defending himself against Simon. Pressure mounted daily against Bragg's office to drop charges against Alba as the investigation continued.

Finally, the district attorney’s office said “a homicide case against Alba could not be proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt" as part of a motion to dismiss the case filed Tuesday morning, the Times said. The case won't be presented to a grand jury, the paper added.

Here's video of attack and stabbing.

Content warning: Graphic video:

Simon was an ex-con on parole

The New York Post reported that Simon was on parole for assaulting a cop at the time of the deadly encounter in the Harlem bodega. State corrections records show Simon served prison time on a second-degree assault conviction for attacking the officer before he was paroled last year, the Post added.

In addition, the paper — citing sources and records — said Simon was busted at least eight times on charges ranging from assault and robbery to assault during a domestic dispute.

The New York Daily News — citing the criminal complaint — added that Simon’s girlfriend grabbed a knife from her purse and stabbed Alba in the arm during the bodega attack.

Police sources said Alba was stabbed during the assault but that Simon's girlfriend denied to police that she stabbed Alba, the Post said in a separate story. Alba's lawyer said during his arraignment that Simon’s girlfriend stabbed Alba three times in the shoulder and hand, the Post added.

New Video Shows Girlfriend Stab NYC Bodega Worker After Confrontation Turned Deadly | News 4 Nowyoutu.be

How did Simon's family react to the dropped charges?

The Times added that Simon’s family spoke with the district attorney’s office Tuesday morning and criticized the decision. Simon's cousin Candra Simon said "we are all clearly disappointed and can’t understand how it’s OK to take an unarmed man’s life. This decision sets a dangerous precedent," the paper reported.

Chicago gang members released without charges after deadly shootout — in part because they were 'mutual combatants' who willingly fought each other



Chicago gang members involved in a deadly shooting Friday were released from custody without charges — one of them being first-degree murder — in part because the five arrestees were "mutual combatants" and willingly fought with each other, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

What are the details?

The paper — citing an internal police report and a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation — said the "brazen mid-morning gunfight" in the Austin neighborhood involved rival factions of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang.

Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot

The gun battle ended with one shooter dead and two suspects wounded, the Sun-Times said. It was "just like the Wild West," the source told the paper.

More from the Sun-Times:

About 10:30 a.m., two Dodge Chargers driven by members of the Body Snatchers faction of the Four Corner Hustlers drove to the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue and exchanged words with members of the gang's Jack Boys set, according to the source and the police report.

After circling the block and coming back, at least three individuals jumped out of the Chargers and began to shoot into a brick house using handguns equipped with "switches" that made the weapons fully automatic, noted the source and report. Members of the Jack Boys who were inside the home then began firing back.

Two of the Body Snatchers were left wounded, including an unidentified 32-year-old man who was later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the report and the Cook County medical examiner's office. A 29-year-old man aligned with the Jack Boys was also struck.

While the source confirmed that more than 70 shell casings were found outside the home, that likely doesn't reflect the number of shots that were fired from inside.

The gunfight, which was caught on a police POD camera, came to a halt when a police cruiser pulled up to the block, according to the report and the source. The Body Snatchers then fled in the Chargers, leaving their fatally wounded accomplice behind.

No charges against 'mutual combatants'

The Sun-Times, citing the law enforcement source, said police wanted to charge all five suspects with murder and aggravated battery — but by Sunday morning a Chicago police spokeswoman said the suspects had "been released without charges."

Cristina Villareal, a Cook County state's attorney's office spokeswoman, said prosecutors "determined that the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to approve felony charges," the paper reported.

Villareal also said police officials agreed with the decision, the Sun-Times added.

However, the police report also said "mutual combatants was cited as the reason for the rejection" of charges, the paper noted, adding that mutual combat is a legal term used to designate a fight in which opponents willingly engage in.

Pushback from the mayor

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx to reverse her decision on the case, WLS-TV reported.

Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot

"If they do not feel like the criminal justice system is going to hold them accountable, we're going to see a level of brazenness that will send the city into chaos, and we cannot let that happen," Lightfoot said Monday, the station said.

The mayor — a former prosecutor — disagreed with Foxx's lack of evidence assessment, WLS noted.

Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot

"I think that there's evidence there," Lightfoot also said, according to the station. "We've got videotape, we have a marked squad of uniformed officers who were on the scene observing it. At a bare minimum, the individuals who initiated the firefight must be prosecuted."

Foxx's office responds

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office released the following statement in response to the mayor's comments, WLS said:

As a former federal prosecutor, the Mayor knows of the ethical obligation of the prosecutor to only bring forth charges where the facts, evidence, and law support it. She is also fully aware that as a prosecutor we are obligated not to try cases in the media. It is unclear why she has chosen to make such statements, especially absent the full information that was presented to our office by CPD. The detectives reached out to our office on Friday and acknowledged at the outset that given the chaotic nature at the scene they were unable to determine how the events unfolded. We reviewed the evidence that was presented to us in consultation with the detectives and they agreed we were unable to approve charges based on the evidence presented. However, as always, as additional evidence is gathered we stand ready to bring charges when appropriate. Additionally, the facts the mayor presented today simply are not in line with what was presented to us by CPD, and not born out by the evidence we received. The staggering violence that is devastating our communities is horrific, however, we must still adhere to both our ethical and legal standards in evaluating charges. As a former prosecutor, she knows that.

Anything else?

After the gun battle, one of the involved cars was "found engulfed in flames nearby," the paper said, citing the police report, and the other vehicle was used to drop off the non-fatal gunshot victim at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park where police spotted it.

More from the Sun-Times:

During a brief chase, the 20-year-old driver crashed and he was taken into custody, according to the source and the report. An AK-47 assault rifle was found in the car, though police don't believe it was used in the shooting.

Both Chargers were likely stolen, according to the source, who said one car had a "dealer plate" and the other had no license plates at all.

Those affiliated with the Jack Boys, meanwhile, refused to leave the home on Mason, causing a standoff that required a SWAT team to respond, the source said.

Police looked to charge three Jack Boys who were eventually taken into custody, including the man who was shot, the source said. Investigators also sought charges against two members of the Body Snatchers — the driver who crashed the Charger and the 20-year-old man he took to West Suburban.

The paper said it isn't naming the suspects since they haven't been criminally charged.