CVS worker rips prosecutors after he’s acquitted in fatal stabbing of serial shoplifter in Times Square

By Ben Kochman and Mikella Schuettler

Published July 24, 2025, 4:01 p.m. ET

A former CVS worker who fatally stabbed a shoplifter inside a Midtown store burst into tears after a Manhattan jury acquitted him of a manslaughter charge Thursday – then ripped prosecutors who brought the case.

A sobbing Scotty Enoe, 48, mouthed “thank you” to jurors after they took just 20 minutes to find him not guilty in the July 2023 death of Charles Brito.

Enoe put his face in his hands after hearing the verdict in Manhattan Supreme Court, where he’d faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

The jury convicted the Grenada-born cooler stocker of a lower weapons count for possessing a set of brass knuckles on the night of the fatal stabbing, but he’s not expected to face any jail time on that charge.

Afterward, Enoe ripped Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office for bringing him to trial.

“People are on drugs and just harassing people and doing whatever they want, they get away with it, but the minute you stand up for yourself, the prosecutors want to put you in jail,” Enoe told The Post.

Scotty Enoe, the CVS worker initially accused of murder after a stabbing incident with a shoplifter, is seen leaving the courthouse relieved as charges are dropped.

“Something needs to be done, because these people harass people every day. Every single day they are harassing hard working people,” Enoe added, referring to serial shoplifters.

Enoe spent nearly a week at Rikers Island after his arrest, and was released only after his new employer, drink distributor Big Geyser, helped him make his $100,000 bail.

He took the stand in his own defense and testified that he was justified to protect himself and his coworkers from a “crazy” man who had just “beat the s–t” out of him with his fists.

Shoppers and pedestrians pass by the bustling CVS pharmacy at 49th and Broadway in New York City, a noted location for an incident in July 2023.

Enoe stabbed the unarmed Brito eight times, with two of the blows puncturing his liver, evidence showed. Brito had raised his elbows up and nearly struck two of Enoe’s female coworkers before the stabbing, Enoe testified.

“He just beat the s–t out of me, I couldn’t fight this guy with my bare hands,” he told jurors.

A juror said she believed the manslaughter acquittal was “the right thing to do.

“I wish him all the best. He deserves to be found innocent and to live his life,” juror Adriana Corben, 33, a physician, told The Post.

Enoe decided to take his chances at trial after Bragg’s office offered him a plea deal for five years in prison, his lawyer revealed.

“I am obligated to convey any offer to my client, and I did, and we both said, ‘F–k them, it’s ridiculous,'” attorney Frank Rothman told The Post.

Mugshot of Charles Brito.

Charles Brito was a serial shoplifter known for robbing drugstores in the area, police sources said.

A suspected serial shoplifter, known for targeting local drugstores, appears in a police mugshot.

“I said, Scotty, my opinion is ‘F–k them, it’s ridiculous’, and Scotty said ‘Yeah, I agree’.”

Rothman called it a “disgrace” that Manhattan prosecutors took the manslaughter case all the way to trial  – and said the jury’s quick verdict showed that they agreed.

“They came back after 30 minutes and said you had no business bringing this case,”  Rothman said. “The near-record time it took for them to decide tells everyone that they felt the same way. That the DA’s office had absolutely no business bringing manslaughter charges against this man.”

A spokesperson for the DA told The Post, “We respect the jury’s verdict and thank them for their service.”

Prosecutors had argued at trial that Enoe stabbed Brito as an act of “revenge” for first punching him in the face during a scuffle inside the West 49th St and Broadway store.

“You do not get to stab someone to death just because they punched you in the face,” Assistant District Attorney Julie Nobel told jurors in her closing statement earlier Thursday.

“He did not stab Mr. Enoe in his chest eight times to protect anyone … he did it for revenge,” she added.

Bragg, who is up for re-election this fall, has had a rocky experience prosecuting cases against New Yorkers claiming to have acted in self defense.

Thursday’s not-guilty verdict comes three years after the DA finally dropped a controversial murder charge against bodega worker Jose Alba — who fatally stabbed an ex-con who attacked him in his Hamilton Heights store. The case had sparked widespread outrage across the city.