The Manhattan bodega the place a clerk killed an assailant in self-defense was once more the scene of an assault on a employee — and the suspect was let out after his arrest, The Publish has discovered.
The child-gloves remedy of accused robber Ariel Hernandez, 19, is a far cry from the way in which soft-on-crime Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg handled retailer employee Jose Alba after he grabbed a knife to defend himself from a raging ex-con earlier this yr.
The “woke’’ high prosecutor had charged Alba, 61, with homicide, forcing the traumatized clerk to spend practically per week on Rikers Island — despite the fact that surveillance video confirmed him being attacked by Austin Simon, 35, earlier than the July 1 stabbing.
Bragg solely backed down and dropped the costs towards Alba after a collection of front-page Publish reviews that outraged politicians and on a regular basis New Yorkers.
The newest assault on the Blue Moon comfort retailer in Hamilton Heights unfolded round 6:30 p.m. Aug. 19 whereas proprietor Osamah Aldhabyani, 33, was working a 12-hour shift.
“The man got here within the retailer and began scaring the purchasers,” Aldhabyani mentioned of Hernandez.
“He grabbed two Monsters [energy drinks] and left. I believed that was the top of it, however he got here again three minutes later.”
Aldhabyani mentioned the person “informed me [he] has an actual drawback with me,” then “got here behind the counter and requested me for cash and Black & Milds,” a model of tipped cigarillos common with weed people who smoke to be used in making blunts, based on on-line postings.
“I informed him to go away me alone as a result of I didn’t need any issues,” Aldhabyani mentioned.
“He began tossing issues behind the counter and … after I pushed him exterior, we began preventing. I put him on the ground and held him there till the police got here.”
A legal grievance filed towards Hernandez alleges that he “knocked [Aldhabyani] to the bottom and wrapped his arm round [Aldhabyani’s] neck, inflicting substantial ache to [his] head and again.”
On the suspect’s arraignment the subsequent day, Hernandez pleaded not responsible to second-degree theft, third-degree housebreaking and petit larceny.
The theft rap was eligible for bail beneath the state’s controversial 2019 bail-reform legal guidelines, however Bragg’s workplace by no means sought it.
Aldhabyani was in the midst of a 12-hour shift when the incident befell.
"I informed him to go away me alone as a result of I did not need any issues," Aldhabyani mentioned.
Ariel Hernandez pleaded not responsible to second-degree theft, third-degree housebreaking and petit larceny.
A legal grievance mentioned Hernandez precipitated "substantial ache" to Aldhabyani's head and again.
Hernandez was launched with out bail by Manhattan Prison Court docket Decide Melissa Lewis Andre.
As an alternative, prosecutors requested that Hernandez be launched on his personal recognizance, which Manhattan Prison Court docket Decide Melissa Lewis Andre did.
“The info uncovered to date on this ongoing investigation, together with that the defendant has no prior convictions, don't justify searching for bail and potential detention on Rikers Island because the least restrictive means to make sure his return to courtroom,” Bragg spokesman Doug Cohen informed The Publish on Thursday.
That call was in line with the controversial “Day One” memo Bragg issued after taking workplace Jan. 1.
Amongst his numerous soft-on-crime directives, Bragg mentioned prosecutors “should reserve pretrial detention for very severe circumstances” and that there’s “a presumption of pre-trial non-incarceration for each case besides these with expenses of murder or the dying of a sufferer.”
In the meantime, Aldhabyani, a Qatari immigrant who purchased the shop eight months in the past, mentioned he fears turning into the subsequent law-abiding sufferer to be focused by Manhattan’s progressive DA.
Aldhabyani mentioned Bragg’s workplace unexpectedly despatched him a subpoena for surveillance video of the incident involving Hernandez. In Alba’s case, authorities visited the shop to retrieve comparable recordings the morning after Simon’s slaying.
The Aug. 30 subpoena demanded that the bodega flip over “any and all surveillance video” from “between 5 p.m. and seven p.m.” on the date Aldhabyani was robbed and warned that failure to “produce mentioned objects” may lead to a conviction for legal contempt and “a superb of $1,000 and imprisonment for one yr.”
Bodega employee Jose Alba fatally stabbed a person after getting attacked in his Manhattan retailer on July 1, 2022.
Alba, a cashier on the bodega, was initially charged with homicide.
Alba spent days on Rikers Island earlier than his launch.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg ultimately dropped the homicide expenses towards Alba.
Alba is leaving the US for the Dominican Republic following the incident.
However Aldhabyani mentioned he can’t comply as a result of the bodega’s digicam system solely shops recordings for 14 days and all he has are the clips he shot on his cellphone, the longest of which is three minutes, seven seconds.
“I’m scared that the DA is retaliating due to Jose Alba and that what occurred with Jose will occur to me — as a result of I will probably be arrested like Jose,” Aldhabyani mentioned.
“I’m fearful of being arrested as a result of they're focusing on me as a result of they informed us to not share the Jose Alba video with anyone and we shared it.”
Aldhabyani mentioned he confirmed up on the DA’s workplace Sept. 6, as directed within the subpoena, and met with an official who informed him to anticipate one other letter that has but to reach.
“I’m ready for this letter, and I need to see what’s occurring. I’m nervous and scared,” he mentioned.
In a ready assertion, Bragg spokesman Doug Cohen mentioned, “All New Yorkers need to really feel protected of their workplaces.
“Nobody at Blue Moon is being investigated — acquiring video proof via a subpoena is a routine a part of investigating a case.
“We take the defendant’s alleged conduct severely and are actively investigating it,” Bragg’s spokesman, Cohen, mentioned.
The Authorized Help Society, which is representing Hernandez, declined to remark.
Alba, who’s stored a low profile since his highly-publicized ordeal, informed The Publish Thursday night time that he’s fed up with the violence in New York Metropolis — and on the bodega the place he used to work.
“I don’t be ok with these issues. It makes me unhappy that this retains occurring. I’ve lived in New York for a very long time and I don’t need any extra issues,” he mentioned.
Alba added that he hasn’t been again to the bodega because the night time of Simon’s assault and he’s uncertain if he’ll be leaving the Huge Apple for the Dominican Republic, as his friends beforehand informed The Publish could be the case.
Post a Comment