Suspect in NYC killing arrested in Arizona after 2 stabbings; county attorney won't extradite
Download mp3 (1.14 MB)Maricopa County attorney swipes at New York's DA
The Republican prosecutor of Arizona's most populous county took a thinly veiled swipe at a Democratic counterpart in the East on Wednesday, saying she would not agree to extradition of a suspect in the death of a woman who was fatally bludgeoned in a New York City hotel room, and that he should be tried first in Arizona for stabbing two women here.
Raad Almansoori, 26, is being held without bond while Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell's office decides how to charge him in connection with the stabbing of two women in the county in recent days, Mitchell said at a news conference. Those two women survived.
“Having observed the treatment of violent criminals in the New York area by Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, I think it’s safer to keep him here and keep him in custody," said Mitchell, referring to the prosecutor who brought the high-profile case against former President Donald Trump alleging that hush money was paid during his 2016 campaign to cover up an affair.
Both Mitchell and Bragg are elected officials.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office responded swiftly.
"It is deeply disturbing that D.A. Mitchell is playing political games in a murder investigation,” Manhattan D.A. spokesperson Emily Tuttle said in a statement. “It is a slap in the face to them and to the victim in our case to refuse to allow us to seek justice and full accountability for a New Yorker’s death.”
The statement said the office is “serious about New Yorkers' safety,” adding that homicides are down 24% since Bragg took office. Tuttle said New York's homicide rate is less than half that of Phoenix's.
Later Wednesday, Mitchell's office said that under Arizona law “all pending criminal matters in Arizona are to be resolved first before extradition to the outside state occurs.”
Man suspected in killing of woman in NYC hotel room arrested in 2 Arizona stabbings
New York City police officials said at a news conference Tuesday that they are seeking to extradite and arrest Raad Almansoori, 26, in the killing of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38. He has not yet been charged.
There were no immediate records for Almansoori's lawyers in Arizona, and it was not immediately clear if he has legal representation in New York.
Oleas-Arancibiam was found by staff on the floor of a lower Manhattan hotel room on Feb. 8. Her death was determined to have been caused by blunt force trauma to the head, and a broken iron was found at the scene, police said.
Almansoori was arrested on Sunday in Arizona and later booked on suspicion of attempted murder, aggravated assault and theft of means of transportation, though no formal charges had yet been filed as of midday Tuesday.
While in custody, he told officers he was wanted for the homicide and that they should Google the hotel’s name, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Hours before the arrest, local police allege he attacked an employee in a bathroom at a McDonald’s restaurant in Surprise, a suburb in the northwest section of metro Phoenix.
They say the suspect entered the women’s bathroom, pounded on the door of the stall where the employee was locked behind, climbed under the door, pointed a BB gun at her and stabbed her at least three times in the neck before fleeing.
He was eventually arrested in Scottsdale, where he was allegedly driving a stolen car.
Phoenix police said he is also suspected of stabbing another woman during a robbery attempt while armed with a knife and gun a day earlier.
New York officials are working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look for any other incidents in connection with the suspect in Florida and Texas, where he previously lived and has been arrested.
“Anywhere that he’s visited, there is potential that there are other victims around the country,” Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard said.
