PHOENIX (AP) – Republican prosecutors in Arizona's most populous county took a thin line at Democratic prosecutors to the east Wednesday, saying they would not agree to extradite a suspect in the death of a woman who was bludgeoned to death during an assault. said. He argued that he should first be tried in Arizona for stabbing two women in a New York City hotel room.
Ra'ad al-MansooriThe 26-year-old is being held without bail while Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell's office determines how to charge him in connection with the stabbings of two women in the county in recent days. Mitchell said at a news conference. Those two women survived.
“Having watched Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg handle violent criminals in the New York area, I think it's safer to keep him here and keep him in custody,” Mitchell said of the attention paid to the former prosecutor. He mentioned a prosecutor who brought a high-level case. President Donald Trump has claimed that he was paid hush money to cover up an affair during his 2016 campaign.
Both Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Bragg are elected officials.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office responded quickly.
Manhattan Police Department spokeswoman Emily Tuttle said in a statement: “It is deeply disturbing that Prosecutor Mitchell is playing politics with this murder investigation.” She said, “Our refusal to demand justice and full accountability for the deaths of New Yorkers is a slap in the face to them and to the victims in our cases.”
The department “takes the safety of New Yorkers seriously,” the statement said, adding that homicides have fallen 24% since Bragg took office. Tuttle said New York state's homicide rate is less than half that of Phoenix.
Late Wednesday, Mitchell's office said that under Arizona law, “all criminal cases pending in Arizona must first be resolved before extradition occurs.”
Al-Mansoori was arrested Sunday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a female employee in the bathroom of a McDonald's restaurant in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise. The suspect was also being sought for the stabbing of another woman during an attempted robbery in the Phoenix area the day before. Authorities say he was driving a stolen vehicle at the time of his arrest.
Al-Mansouri was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and theft of transportation. No record of an attorney representing al-Mansouri could be found online Wednesday afternoon.
Mr. Bragg, a Democrat and Manhattan's first black district attorney, has faced fierce criticism from Republicans over the prosecutor's ruling.
Some critics attacked him, distorted his records For indicting Trump. He has also faced backlash over his office's decision not to prosecute certain low-level crimes. A law passed in New York in 2019, the year before Mr. Bragg took office, also limits the use of bail for misdemeanors and some nonviolent felonies. Neither bail laws nor Mr. Bragg's internal policies have any effect on the treatment of suspects charged with murder.
New York City police officials announced Tuesday that they are seeking extradition of Al-Mansouri in connection with the Feb. 8 murder of Dennis Oleas Aranchibia, 38, at a Lower Manhattan hotel. Prosecutors said no formal charges will be filed in New York until someone is extradited and appears in court.
Maricopa County law enforcement officials said Almansouri has family in the area and has lived there in the past.
Oleas Aranchibia was found by staff on the floor of her hotel room. Police said her death was caused by blunt force trauma to her head, and a broken clothes iron was found at the scene.
New York authorities are working with the FBI to determine if there is any connection to crimes in Florida and Texas, where Al-Mansouri previously lived and was arrested.
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Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz and Maysoon Khan in New York contributed to this report.
