Republican Maricopa County District Attorney Rachel Mitchell responded to Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Wednesday by breaking down the legal process for why she won’t be extraditing a murder suspect back to New York City.
Mitchell appeared on “Dan Abrams Live” on NewsNation to discuss her recent push back on extraditing murder suspect Raad Noah Almansoori to NYC after Bragg requested he be sent back to the city. The Maricopa County top prosecutor detailed to Abrams why the decision wasn’t “petty politics,” clarifying that the state is not “refusing” to extradite Almansoori. (RELATED: GOP District Attorney Refuses To Extradite Murder Suspect To NYC)
“I’m no fan of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, I’ve been critical of him on a number of fronts here. But there is something that feels like petty politics about this, no?” Abrams questioned.
“No. It’s not petty politics. This individual, Mr. Almansoori, came into Maricopa county, which I am sworn and elected to protect, and he brutally stabbed two women — said that his intent was to kill them, said his intent was to rape them. These are mandatory prison sentences in Arizona. One count alone carries a sentence of seven to 21 years in prison. So it’s not that we’re refusing to extradite, it’s simply that we’re going to go. I have him here without bond, meaning he cannot bond out, he can not post any amount of money to get out of jail, and I believe that that is the best place for him right now,” Mitchell stated.
As Abrams continued to highlight Arizona’s criminal code 13-3842, which lays out the legal ruling on extraditing criminals, Mitchell pushed back on Abrams noting that Almansoori is charged within Arizona for “very serious felonies.” Mitchell emphasized that the “norm” within cases is “not to extradite,” before responding to Bragg’s comments claiming that she was politically motivated.
Mitchell stated that while she had the “utmost respect” for NYPD and crime victims, her county had arrested four illegal immigrants who fled from NYC by “walking out of jail” after allegedly beating two officers in Times Square.
“The norm is not to extradite, the norm is that the person who has him goes first. Now there may be some exceptions if the crime here would be less serious, but the bottom line is he is non-bondable here, we do have extremely serious charges here, and we are going to go first,” Mitchell continued.
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for the NYPD as well as victims of crime. But I would point out, what we recently saw happen in New York City, which is where illegal immigrants attacked NYPD officers and were allowed to walk out of jail flipping off the camera. Incidentally, four of those people ended up in Maricopa County and being taken into custody here. So given that track record I would dispute what he said, otherwise.”
Almansoori was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, last weekend for allegedly stabbing two women after he was already wanted by New York authorities for allegedly killing another woman, Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, on Feb. 8. Almansoori is being held without bail on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and theft of means for acts in Surprise, Arizona, as well as robbery, assault, theft and criminal damage within Phoenix, Arizona, according to NBC News.