A 23-year-old woman has been busted in the brutal knife attack of an Upper East Side juice bar worker last week that left the man fighting for his life, police said Wednesday.
Chala Jamison, of Manhattan, was arrested Monday and charged with attempted murder and burglary after allegedly stabbing the 39-year-old clerk multiple times during an argument at Juice Island on Third Avenue near East 61st Street, cops said.
The two were in an argument inside the store at around 8:30 p.m. on April 12 — when Jamison allegedly grabbed a knife off the juice bar counter and stabbed the worker in the head, neck, back and hands as he tried to protect himself, according to cops and the group United Bodegas of America.
Jamison had allegedly refused to pay for her juice, sparking the clash, according to the UBA, an association of bodega owners.
Security footage captured the attacker, wearing a pink hoodie pulled up over her blonde locks, making her escape east on 61st Street, according to police.
The victim — who was identified by the UBA as Luis Morocho Vasquez, an Ecuadorian immigrant — was brought to Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition. He has since been released, a UBA rep said Wednesday.
The bodega association claims cops had been called to the juice bar before the violence broke out “but could not do anything because it was [just] a threat.”
Jamison allegedly returned once officers left and attacked the worker, the association says.
“Morocho did nothing wrong, he expected to get paid for the juice instead he was stabbed after Jameson threatened his life,” said a spokesman for UBA, Fernando Mateo, who called on Jamison to be held without bail.
Shortly after the crime, Juice World owner Sam Alherish rushed to his shop to check on the scene and told reporters his clerk had “lost a lot of blood.”
The fed-up owner told The Post he’s thinking about closing his business over the surge of violence in the area.
“It’s the third assault in seven years at this shop, Alherish said.
Jamison was awaiting arraignment Wednesday.