Jose Alba, the Harlem deli worker initially charged with fatally stabbing a man, is one of three witnesses confirmed to testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing investigating Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, according to the committee’s website.
Alba was accused last year of murdering Austin Simon following a confrontation at the Blue Moon convenience store in Harlem in July 2022. Alba was captured on surveillance video stabbing Simon multiple times.
Bragg initially charged Alba with murder but tossed out the charges following public pressure from advocacy groups. Mayor Eric Adams also waded into Alba’s defense, calling him hardworking.
The House Judiciary Committee announced its investigation into Bragg on Monday, with members expected to travel to New York City for the hearing at the Javits Federal Building on Monday, April 17. According to the committee, the hearing promises to investigate Bragg’s “pro-crime, antivictim policies.”
The hearing is also a response to Bragg's prosecution of former President Donald Trump. The committee subpoenaed Mark Pomerantz — a former assistant district attorney who was investigating Trump before he resigned from the district attorney's office in 2022 — and is looking for other documents related to the case. Bragg is suing committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) over what he deems a “brazen and unconstitutional attack” on his office’s prosecution.
Other witnesses called on Monday include Madeline Brame, chair of the Victims Rights Reform Council and the mother of a homicide victim; and Jennifer Harrison, founder of Victims Rights NY. Additional witnesses have yet to be named, according to the committee.
