NEW YORK.- Radhamés Rodríguez, president of the United Winemakers Association of America (UBA), which brings together more than 12,000 members in the city, will meet Tuesday with Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg.
Said meeting in an effort to do justice in favor of the Dominican winemaker José Alba, 51, who in the midst of an attack inside his business killed the African-American ex-convict Austin Simón, 37, in self-defense.
Also, discuss numerous topics related to the safety of warehouse owners and their employees in the future.
Simón entered the “Blue Moon Convenient Store Corp” business, located on 139th Street and Broadway Avenue, in Upper Manhattan, pushing, knocking down and assaulting Alba, as can be seen in the surveillance video.
In these circumstances, the winemaker defended himself, took a knife and stabbed him several times, and the aggressor later died. Alba was arrested and released on $50,000 bail, an electronic monitor, and delivery of his passport.
Mayor Eric Adams came out in defense of the Quisqueyan, expressing “my thoughts are with this hardworking and honest New Yorker who was doing his job in his workplace, where a person entered and stood behind the counter and attacked him.”
Likewise, the president of UBA specifies that Alba was clearly defending herself against a young and strong man who attacked him. “There was no time for him to think when his life was in danger,” he maintained.
“The video clearly shows who the aggressor was in this case. Simón went behind the counter to beat Alba and possibly kill him, and he simply defended himself with whatever he could get his hands on,” Rodríguez expresses.
“We agree with the mayor that every hard-working New Yorker has the right to defend himself when attacked,” he said.
“Alba and her family have been through enough pain and suffering; the family does not have the money for a defense attorney, and it is a waste of taxpayer dollars to bring murder charges against a working man with no known criminal record.
We hope that prosecutor Bragg listens and understands UBA’s request to drop all charges,” Rodríguez concluded.
