There is mounting anger over woke Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's decision to charge a 62-year-old bodega employee with murder for killing a career criminal in self-defense after the thug attacked him in his store.
Jose Alba is in Rikers Island this morning awaiting his first court appearance on charges of murder.
His bail has been set at $250,000 - an exorbitant amount compared with the low-or-no cash bail that is routinely given to repeat offenders by Bragg's soft-touch office.
On Friday night, Alba stabbed Austin Simon to death after Simon attacked him in the Bluemoon Convenient Store in Harlem.
Alba, who is beloved in the local community, has worked there for decades and has no criminal record.
His family launched a GoFundMe page to help pay his legal expenses - but the page was removed on Wednesday night after raising $20,000. GoFundMe is yet to explain the decision.
Over the weekend, Alba was arraigned on a second degree murder charge and Bragg's office asked the judge to set Alba's bail at $500,000 - which the judge deemed too high.
Alba has not yet been indicted; his case is going before a grand jury on Saturday.
The pair began fighting and Alba reached for the knife that is used to open boxes
The pair started fighting and Alba grabbed the knife that the staff in the store use to open boxes. He stabbed Simon in the neck and chest
Alba is now being held in Rikers on a second degree murder charge
There is growing anger over the prosecution of bodega worker Alba by...
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