Update 07/19/2022 2:55pm:

On Tuesday (July 19),  the Manhattan District Attorney's Office filed a motion to dismiss a murder charge against Jose Alba, the 61-year-old bodega worker who stabbed a customer who came behind the counter and shoved Alba.

Judge Laurie Peterson signed off on the motion, which Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sigall addressed in the court filing. Stigall stated, "Following an investigation, the People have determined that we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not justified in his use of deadly physical force." 

The investigation included witnesses at the bodega who called 911, along with first responders to the scene, who treated the customer, identified as Austin Simon, 35. Simon later died of his injuries sustained in the incident. 

Mayor Eric Adams previously voiced support for Alba, and he spoke out on Tuesday following the decision. During a press conference, Adams stated, "I think in this case we had an innocent, hardworking New Yorker that was doing his job and someone was extremely aggressive towards him. And I believe after the DA's review, the DA, in my opinion, made the right decision."

Source: CNN

Original 07/07/2022 3:27pm:

Jose Alba, the 51-year-old Bodega worker who famously stabbed an alleged would-be attacker out of self-defense back on July 1st, has been charged with murder and transported to Rikers Island after being unable to pay $250,000 for his bond.

According to reports, GoFundMe recently deleted a page to help raise money for Alba to cover his legal fees. The timing could not have been any worse for Alba, who is now facing the prospect of serving 25 years behind bars for an on-camera incident in which he stabbed a 34-year-old man named Austin Simon in the neck and chest multiple times following a dispute over a declined credit card transaction. Be that as it may, the Mayor of New York has already chosen a side in the matter.

"My heart goes out for that hard-working, honest New Yorker that was doing his job in his place of business, where a person came in and went behind a counter and attacked him," said Eric Adams. "My heart goes out to that employee who was in the store, doing his job. And so I am hoping that we take all of that into consideration, as this hard-working New Yorker was doing his job, and someone aggressively went behind the counter to attack him."

The Major of NYC isn't the only prominent voice who has publically shown their support for Alba, but only time will tell how impactful it will be as the Manhattan DA appears to be a strong opposition on the matter.

For more news on this case, click the link below. 

Source: NY Post