A bodega clerk charged with murder for acting in self-defense will be one of the star witnesses at a House Judiciary Committee field hearing on victims violent crime, to be held in New York City next week.
Jose Alba, an ex-bodega worker who was attacked behind the counter on July 1 by 35-year-old Austin Simon, will testify to the committee about how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s policies have contributed to rising crime and made residents feel unsafe. The hearing, titled “Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan, is scheduled for 9 a.m. ET on Monday, April 17, at the Javits Federal Building.
The panel will also hear testimony from Madeline Brame, Chairwoman of the Victim Rights Reform Council and mother of a homicide victim and Jennifer Harrison, an advocate for victims’ rights in New York.
Republicans said the hearing “will examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents.”
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Alba was arrested last July and charged with second degree murder of Simon, who was seen on surveillance video first coming behind the cashier’s desk at the Blue Moon convenience store in Manhattan and attacking him. Despite claiming self-defense, Alba was sent to Riker’s Island prison and initially given $250,000 bail, outraging the city’s Dominican community.
Bragg’s office faced widespread condemnation for bringing charges against Alba, as footage strongly suggested that the bodega worker grabbed a knife and fatally stabbed his assailant only after he had been attacked first.
Among many other supporters, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton had publicly decried the initial charging decision, saying Alba acted in self-defense to thwart what appeared to be either an attempt on his own life or a robbery in progress.
The district attorney dropped the murder charge on July 19.
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“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. As such, the People will not be presenting the case to a Grand Jury and for the reasons provided in the attached memorandum, hereby move to dismiss the complaint,” Bragg’s office wrote in court documents obtained by Fox News.
Alba’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee comes as Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has accused Bragg of “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority” after former President Donald Trump was arraigned for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records following Bragg’s years-long investigation into alleged hush money payments Trump made in 2016.
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“In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Bragg last month.
Last week, Jordan subpoenaed former New York County Special Assistant District Attorney Mark Pomerantz to testify on the role he played investigating Trump’s finances before resigning in protest when Bragg initially declined to charge Trump with crimes. Jordan alleged that Pomertantz instigated a political investigation.
Bragg said the subpoena is an “unprecedented campaign of harassment and intimidation” from House GOP members.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace, Brianna Herlihy and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
