What are the countries with the most homicides in Latin America?
1:04
(CNN) --
A growing number of voices are urging Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to drop a murder charge against a warehouse worker who fatally stabbed a man who had come behind the counter and pushed him. .
Warehouse employee Jose Alba, 61, was working at the Blue Moon Convenient Store in Upper Manhattan on the night of July 1 when he became involved in a deadly altercation with Austin Simon, according to a copy of the complaint. Alba prison.
Alba was also allegedly stabbed by Simon's girlfriend during the incident, the complaint says.
Simon's girlfriend, who is not named in the complaint, had left the store after being refused payment while trying to buy a sandwich for her daughter, and returned to the store with Simon.
President of LULAC: "Latino children and adolescents are three times more likely to die from homicide with firearms"
The New York Post obtained surveillance video of the incident and reported that the woman can be heard saying, "my n*** is going to come here right now and f*** you up," shortly before Simon will arrive at the store.
According to the complaint, surveillance video showed Simon carrying a white towel in one hand, walking into the area behind the counter where Alba was sitting and then pushing him away.
An image taken from video acquired by The New York Post shows an altercation between Austin Simon, left, and warehouse clerk Jose Alba, in which the latter ends up stabbing Simon.
"Mr. Simon then pocketed the towel and tried to pull the defendant away from behind the counter, but the defendant took a kitchen knife that was stored behind the counter and stabbed Mr. Simon in the neck and shoulder. chest at least five times," the complaint states.
advertising
"He wanted me to apologize to the girl," Alba told an investigator, according to the complaint.
"I took the knife we use to open boxes and stabbed him."
The complaint states that Simon's girlfriend tried to pull Alba away from Simon, holding her right arm, but the employee continued to stab Simon.
Simon's girlfriend then pulled a knife from her purse and stabbed Alba, according to the complaint.
According to a spokesman for the prosecution, the woman was not charged.
Simón died that same night "from stab wounds to the neck and torso," according to the complaint.
Alba was arrested by police on July 2 and charged with one count of second-degree murder.
The defendant did not enter a guilty plea, according to Emily Whitfield, a spokeswoman for his attorney.
A brutal murder caught on camera stokes religious tensions in India
Prosecutors asked for Alba's bail to be reduced after the employee was held on Rikers Island for several days, saying at a hearing that they have been in talks with the defense attorney to reach a bond that balances the facts of the case.
Alba was released on $50,000 bail, guaranteed in part by the owners of the warehouse where Alba worked.
He is due back in court on July 20.
Lawyer says employee acted in self-defense
Alice Fontier, director of the Harlem Neighborhood Defender Service, which provides legal services to the community and represents Alba, said in a statement to CNN that Alba defended herself during the incident.
"The video of this case speaks for itself: Mr. Alba was simply doing his job when he was aggressively cornered by a much younger and larger man," Fontier said in the statement.
Alba has worked in warehouses since immigrating to New York City 35 years ago from the Dominican Republic in search of a better life, Fontier said, adding that she has worked in the warehouse where the incident took place for three years.
"She worked hard to obtain her US citizenship 18 years ago and has been a constant source of support for her children and grandchildren," Fontier said.
Woman sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder of her newborn daughter in El Salvador
Others have also come out in defense of Alba.
"José Alba has our full support," said Fernando Mateo, speaking on behalf of Bodegas Unidas de EE.UU.
"Our city is in crisis and at this point we are fed up with people stealing, looting, attacking, assaulting and killing our small businessmen."
Mateo said current New York laws involving the use of deadly force during self-defense must change.
On Tuesday, he and other advocates for the winery met with prosecutor Bragg to urge him to drop Alba's murder charge.
Mateo later said that the meeting was successful.
"We are very hopeful that the Jose Alba case will be dismissed, it will be dropped by the district attorney," Mateo said.
Doug Cohen, a spokesman for the district attorney, issued a statement after the meeting.
"We welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can work together to promote safety on our streets and in our workplaces, and look forward to continuing these conversations," he said.
Cohen previously told CNN that prosecutors are "still reviewing the evidence and the investigation is ongoing."
New York Mayor Eric Adams also expressed his support for Alba, saying that after viewing surveillance video of the incident, he felt Alba "was under attack and we have to take that into account when making these decisions." in a radio interview on July 8.
Adams said that while the NYPD made the arrest, it is ultimately up to the prosecutor to decide whether to press charges.
"Prosecutors have a no mandate. No one can dictate how a case is decided to be prosecuted and my role is never to interfere with the police. I have never called the police to tell them to make an arrest or not to make an arrest. I don't I do that, [police] are independent. Prosecutors are independent. My role is very clear," Adams said.
Criminal attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told CNN that under New York state law, a person can only use deadly force to defend themselves if they "reasonably believe" that the person they are defending against is about to use force. mortal.
The law also states that a person who uses deadly force to defend himself has a "duty to retreat" from a threat, Lichtman said.
"The reason they arrested him was because their position was that the defendant was not facing deadly force," Lichtman said.
Although Lichtman understands why Alba was charged under New York state law, he believes that no reasonable jury would convict Alba of murder in this case.
"If I were defending him, I'd say, 'This is a little older guy and he's got this very angry, very physical guy in front of him, pushing him and clearly about to attack him. He felt like he was about to die and so he grabbed everything he could,'" Lichtman said.
Homicide
