Arizona and New York are at a crossroads between crime and politics. The fate of a suspected murderer is in the middle of a feud between Arizona’s Maricopa County attorney and the Manhattan district attorney.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, is refusing to extradite murder suspect Raad Almansoori, 26. Police said Almansoori confessed to killing a woman in a Manhattan hotel then fled to Arizona where he allegedly stabbed two more women before being arrested.
“Having observed the treatment of violent criminals in the New York area by the Manhattan DA there, Alvin Bragg, I think it is safer to keep him here and keep him in custody,” Mitchell told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Mitchell said she directed her team not to cooperate with the Manhattan DA’s office, saying that Bragg, a Democrat, is too soft on criminals. Mitchell added she does not want Almansoori on the streets.
In a press conference on Thursday, Feb. 22, Bragg called the move politically motivated.
“It is deeply disturbing to me that a member of my profession, a member of law enforcement, would choose to play political games in a murder case,” Bragg said.
Bragg went on to say that since he was elected prosecutor, the murder rate in Manhattan has gone down 38% and is lower than that of Maricopa County, home to Arizona’s largest city, Phoenix.
“County DA Mitchell has — I don’t know how else to say it — has gotten it wrong at every single term,” Bragg said.
Mitchell maintained that her decision not to send Almansoori to New York is about keeping the public safe; it’s not political, and it is not aimed at the work done by New York City police.
However, according to a report done by Fox 10 Phoenix, Mitchell’s attack on New York may have been misguided in this case.
According to the report, in 2023, Almansoori was arrested and facing serious charges in Florida for allegedly attacking a woman.
However, the Florida state attorney’s office reportedly dropped most charges because of insufficient evidence. Almansoori’s bail in that case was set at $2,500.
One of Almansoori’s alleged victims said the murder in New York and the attacks in Arizona should have never happened.
“He said, before he started strangling me: ‘Scream and I’ll kill you,’” the woman said. “It breaks my heart for the other women involved, for the families of those women involved when all of this could have been prevented.”
Almansoori is currently in custody in Arizona, and he is being held without bond.
