CVS worker was ‘getting his head bashed in’ before fatally stabbing serial NYC shoplifter in self-defense: lawyer

By Georgett Roberts and Ben Kochman

Published July 16, 2025, 9:05 p.m. ET

A CVS worker was within his rights to fatally stab a serial shoplifter in a Midtown store, his defense lawyer argued Wednesday — telling jurors the chronic thief sparked the deadly encounter when he “bashed” his client’s head.

Scotty Enoe, 48, acted in self-defense as he took out his pocket knife and stabbed 50-year-old homeless man Charles Brito eight times during the early morning July 2023 scuffle, attorney Frank Rothman said during opening statements of Enoe’s closely watched manslaughter trial.

“This is a fight. He was getting his head bashed in by the cooler,” Rothman said, calling Enoe’s actions “consistent with defense” and “reasonable under the circumstances.”

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Julie Nobel conceded that Brito punched Enoe first and that the CVS worker, whose job was to stock the fridges at the Broadway and West 49th Street store, “wasn’t getting the best of the fight.”

But once the pair, who had tussled on the floor, ended up back on their feet, Enoe broke the law by pulling out his folding knife — which he carried to open cardboard boxes — charging the unarmed Brito and repeatedly stabbing him, the prosecutor argued.

A bloodied Brito stumbled onto the sidewalk with two stab wounds to his liver, and died from his injuries.

The slain homeless man had been arrested more than a dozen times and was a known serial thief at drugstores in the area, police sources have told the Post.

Before the fatal encounter, Brito had several other run-ins with Enoe.

And just a few days before Brito died, he walked into the same CVS and “scooped up as many umbrellas as he could,” said Rothman, who described the Times Square area as a haven for shoplifters and many “undesirables.”

Before the fight broke out, Brito had shouted, “You can’t f–cking stop me. I’ll f–ck you up. I’m going to steal. You can’t stop me,” Rothman told the jury.

“He came on a mission to beat and to steal,” the lawyer added.

Enoe has been out on electronic monitoring after making $100,000 bail.

He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, but jurors could acquit him if they find that he acted “reasonably” given the situation.