NY’s failed criminal-justice reforms have just claimed two more victims — when will the madness end?
Published July 17, 2025, 7:03
Scotty Enoe, a CVS worker, and Charles Brito, a homeless serial shoplifter, are the latest victims of New York’s disastrous criminal-justice reforms.
In 2023, Enoe found himself fighting for his life after Brito attacked him.
The employee fought back by fatally stabbing his attacker with a pocket knife.
Now Enoe’s on trial for manslaughter, facing up to 25 years in prison. And Brito is dead.
It’s tragic for both men.
And absolutely nuts.
And it’s thanks, mostly, to New York’s refusal to slap meaningful consequences on shoplifters like Brito and get them off the streets — and to pro-criminal district attorneys, like Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg, who target victims while bending over backward to let perps slide.
Brito, after all, had been nabbed more than a dozen times and was a known drugstore thief in the area. He’d had several other run-ins with Enoe.
Before the fight, Brito allegedly announced his intention to steal, bragging, “You can’t f–king stop me.”
Why should any worker be put in a situation like that?
But such stories have become commonplace since Albany passed “reforms” like cashless bail, letting perps go free just minutes after their arrests.
Charging Enoe with manslaughter only makes it all the worse. And this is not the first time Bragg has dragged victims and do-gooders into court:
He went after former Marine Daniel Penny, who accidentally killed Jordan Neely while trying to subdue him after Neely threatened riders on a subway train in 2023.
Bragg also charged Manhattan deli clerk Jose Alba with murder for stabbing to death an ex-con who attacked him over a bag of chips.
In 2022, Alba’s prosecution sparked support for “Stand Your Ground” legislation, which would amend state law that requires New Yorkers to retreat before resorting to deadly force.
At the time, GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin expressed support for the measure, telling The Post, “[If] someone comes in, forces you to defend yourself, the government shouldn’t be forcing you to run away.” Amen.
Predictably, opposition by progressives lawmakers killed the bill.
Now New Yorkers are stuck with serial perps that repeatedly threaten public, and, as Brito taunted, nothing can be done about it.
When will such madness end?