July 7, 2022

Alvin Bragg
District Attorney
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
One Hogan Place
New York, NY 10013

Dear District Attorney Bragg,

We urge you to drop all charges against Jose Alba, the bodega worker who defended
himself against a violent attack. The fact that you are even prosecuting Mr. Alba reveals
how your perverse sense of justice not only protects violent criminals, but actively seeks
to destroy the lives of crime victims.

Footage of the attack shows Austin Simon, who has a lengthy criminal record and is
currently on parole for assaulting a cop, going behind the bodega counter and attacking
Mr. Alba. Despite having no criminal record and video showing Mr. Alba acting in self-
defense, you charged him with second-degree murder and asked the court to hold him on
$500,000 bail, which was only reduced to $250,000 by the judge. This approach to justice
makes most New Yorkers think the city is on a self-destructive path to oblivion.

This case is particularly jarring because you routinely drop charges and waive bail for
violent offenders. You failed to request a warrant to confiscate a gun used in an armed
robbery by serial offender Tyrell Rodgers. He later allegedly used that same gun to kill a
man. When Hason Correa, a military veteran and married father of three, was beaten and
stabbed to death, you gave one assailant only a year in prison and only seven years to
another defendant as part of a plea deal. And, of course, there are countless cases where
defendants were allowed to plea down to lesser charges and then later go on to commit
additional crimes. Your approach is not a policy of restorative justice or de-incarceration.
You are simply rewarding the guilty and punishing the innocent.

Please allow common sense to prevail over ideology and recognize that Mr. Alba acted in
self-defense. Release him immediately.

Sincerely,

Robert F. Holden Joseph C. Borelli

Council Member, District 30 Minority Leader
Council Member, District 51
Inna Vernikov David Carr
Council Member, District 48 Council Member, District 50

Kalman Yeger Joann Ariola

Council Member, District 44 Council Member, District 32

Vickie Paladino
Council Member, District 19