Target on his back
Bodega worker’s pals fear there’s a . . .
The Manhattan bodega worker facing murder charges for fighting off an attacker can’t come back to work while he’s out on bail because his co-workers fear he’s in danger of retaliation from his assailant’s pals, they told The Post Friday.
“We’re not letting him come back,” a worker at the Hamilton Heights Blue Moon Convenience Store, who only identified himself as Wilson, said of Jose Alba.
“[His alleged victim’s] friends, family, knowing that the man who killed their son, brother, friend, whatever, got out of jail and is working here? That’s a death sentence. They know where the location is.”
The store’s owner, Osamah Aldhabyani, told The Post that Alba “doesn’t want to take a risk” and return to the store right away. But when Alba’s ready to return to work, the owner said he may transfer him to another store.
‘We feel scared’
Late Thursday, Alba, 61, was sprung from Rikers Island after prosecutors agreed to lower his $250,000 bond following a wave of public outcry over the charges and the level of bail set in the case.
He’s facing second-degree murder charges for stabbing Austin Simon, 35, five times last Friday after the career criminal came behind the counter and attacked him following an argument between his girlfriend and Alba.
Alba and his relatives insist his actions were in self-defense, and his co-workers are concerned more violence is to come.
“Why is [Alba] getting charged? He was working. Now that makes workers even more scared. This could happen to me. We out here working. We feel scared. We have to protect ourselves,” said Wilson.
“In this neighborhood, you don’t know who has a gun. If there is a fight over there in the corner, it ends up here in the store. We are tired of that.”
Since the incident, one worker said he’s coming in on his day off to help keep his co-workers safe.
“He wasn’t looking for trouble. He was working. What is he supposed to do? That guy could have done anything . . . [Alba] is an old man. It’s not fair,” Wilson railed.
Police said Simon’s girlfriend got into an argument with Alba after she was unable to pay for a bag of chips and asked him to open a tab for her at the store.
When Alba declined, she complained to Simon, who came back and attacked the worker.
“They should consider self-defense,” another worker, who only identified himself as Escoo, said of prosecutors.