‘Let this man go.’ Advocates, family call on Bronx DA to drop charges against Melrose bodega owner

December 9, 2024 | Elly Morillo

Advocates say bodegas are safe havens for the community, and that owners should have the right to defend themselves in times of danger.

Bodega owner Jhonny Gomez is now the center of a heated legal battle and what advocates are calling self-defense.

On Thanksgiving morning, advocates say two armed people stormed Gomez’ bodega.

They say Gomez feared for his life and used a firearm he found earlier that day and fired at the would-be robbers, one of them a 17-year-old.

Now advocates are urging the Bronx district attorney to drop the charges.

“If Jhonny did not have the gun that he found earlier in his bodega and he was able to use it to scare these people and get them out of the store, we never know whether they would have turned around and shot everybody in the store,” said United Bodegas Association’s Fernando Mateo.

Advocates say bodegas are safe havens for the community, and that owners should have the right to defend themselves in times of danger.

“We’re asking bodega owners to apply for firearm permits. We’re asking them to get panic buttons. The SaferWatch panic buttons that can send a quick message to the police department,’ said Mateo.

News 12 reached out to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for comment and has not heard back yet.

Gomez is due back in court in January.

Source: https://bronx.news12.com/let-this-man-go-advocates-family-call-on-bronx-da-to-drop-charges-against-melrose-bodega-owner

Speak to a Safety Specialist