Bodega Owner Allegedly Stabs Customer to Death During Fight Over Potato Chips

A New York City bodega owner is facing murder charges after he allegedly stabbed a customer to death during an altercation over potato chips.

The New York Post reports the incident took place around 11:07 p.m. on Friday night at Blue Moon Convenience Store on Broadway near West 139th Street in Hamilton Heights. 

Jose Alba, 51, who owns the store, is accused of fatally stabbing a customer three times during a dispute that stemmed from a bag of potato chips.

Police say Alba initially got into an argument with a woman, who was in the store with a child, because she didn’t have enough cash to purchase the chips. The woman then left the store and contacted Austin Simon, 37, who entered the bodega and proceeded to get into a verbal spat of his own with Alba.

The dispute subsequently “turned physical,” at which point Simon allegedly “went around the counter” and attacked Alba, who then “chose to take a knife and plunge it into the victim’s chest,” according to law enforcement.

Upon arriving at the scene, cops discovered Simon with multiple stab wounds, including two in the chest and one in the neck. The victim was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Alba, who was arrested after police recovered a knife at the scene, has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.