The possible extradition of murder suspect Raad al-Mansouri is the latest in an ongoing exchange of charges between Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Mr. Bragg held a news conference Thursday afternoon to slam Mr. Mitchell's comments the day before that he would let Mr. Almansouri remain in Arizona because the Manhattan prosecutor's office would be soft on him.
Mr. Mitchell's actions “disrespected justice, did not center victims, and were inappropriate,” Mr. Bragg said. “I've been doing this job for 20 years and I've never seen anything like this.”
Bragg said the final decision on extradition does not rest with the Maricopa County attorney general. Mr. Bragg said at a news conference Thursday that he was willing to discuss extradition with Mr. Mitchell.
“I hope the facts, reason and law prevail,” he said, adding, “Both cases are important.”
Almansoori, 26, was being held in Maricopa County on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault in the Feb. 18 stabbing death of a woman at a Surprise McDonald's.
He was also a suspect in the February beating death of Dennis Oleas Aranchibia, 38, at a Manhattan hotel, the newspaper said. new york times.
Mitchell's office requests the stabbing suspect be sent to New York to face charges in New York after Mitchell suggested at Wednesday's press conference that Bragg would deal mildly with al-Mansoori. He denied that it had ever happened.
“Having observed the treatment of violent criminals in the New York area by the Manhattan DA's Office, I want to keep him here and keep him in custody and not do anything like this to individuals in our state or county or anywhere else. I think it's safer to make sure they can't do that,” Mitchell said at a news conference.
After the press conference, Mitchell responded to a statement from the Manhattan prosecutor's office: Post to Xformerly known as Twitter: ” @Manhattan Eventually, I became interested in violent crime. My job is to focus on the victims I have been chosen to protect. ”
Meanwhile, Mr Bragg slammed Mr Mitchell's comments, describing them as trivializing the process.
The Maricopa County office announced that there was no contact from the New York office.
Jeannine Lequier, the county attorney's office's chief of staff for strategic planning and communications, told The Arizona Republic that the ensuing online uproar was a “misrepresentation” by the New York City Police Department in a press conference on Tuesday. He said it started with something like that.
NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenney told reporters that prosecutors in Manhattan were arranging the extradition of al-Mansoori to face murder charges in Maricopa County, The New York Times reported.
“That's not how it works,” Lecuyer said of Kenney's account, adding: “There was no contact whatsoever between Mitchell County Attorney and Attorney Bragg.”
L'Equier said there was a phone call between the two agencies and an agreement was reached to prosecute Al-Mansouri first because Maricopa County is the jurisdiction where Al-Mansouri is being held. This is a typical procedure, Lecuyer explained.
“No one checked with us until yesterday,” she said.
contradictory numbers and facts
Mr. Bragg has become notorious for releasing criminal defendants and choosing not to prosecute them, Lequier argued.
Immediately after taking office in January 2022, Mr. Bragg announced that he would not prosecute certain crimes.misdemeanor marijuana charges, public transportation fare evasion, resisting arrest, and prostitution.
In response to Mitchell's comments, Emily Tuttle, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney, emailed The Arizona Republic on Wednesday, saying, “I am extremely concerned that Prosecutor Mitchell is playing politics with his murder investigation.'' “In Manhattan, we are taking the New Yorker's case very seriously.” That's why murders are down 24% and shootings are down 38% since Prosecutor Bragg took office. ”
The Manhattan prosecutor's office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday morning about efforts to extradite Al-Mansour.
Mr. L'Ecuyer questioned the 2022 homicide numbers for Phoenix, New York City, and Manhattan that were shared by the Manhattan Prosecutor's Office following Mr. Mitchell's comments. Phoenix has 11.6 murders per 100,000 residents, compared to 5.4 and 5 in New York City and Manhattan, respectively, according to the emailed graph.
“I think, objectively, someone who is trying to weigh the quality of life here in Maricopa County versus Manhattan may choose this area for a variety of reasons,” Lecuyer said, adding that Maricopa County has He added that there are more than 26 jurisdictions, each with their own reports, and their data is submitted to the FBI, making it “difficult to compare statistics.”
She argued that Maricopa County's choice to not prosecute some cases could contribute to lower caseloads in New York City and Manhattan.
attract political attention
Mitchell, a Republican, and Bragg, a Democrat, have been in the national spotlight for years, and both longtime prosecutors have one thing in common: former President Donald Trump.
Mitchell questioned psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford on behalf of the Republican Party during the 2018 Senate confirmation hearings on President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Mr. Ford accused Mr. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting them when they were both in high school. Mitchell was called as the only female Republican questioner because of her history of sexual assault prosecutions. Kavanaugh will be confirmed.
Mr. Bragg is largely credited with being the first prosecutor to bring criminal charges against a U.S. president. In March 2023, Mr. Bragg's office filed a 34-count indictment against Mr. Trump, alleging that the former president falsified his business records to conceal his sexual relationships with pornographic film actors. Ta. The trial was scheduled to begin on March 25th.
Contact breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez. jose.gonzalez@gannett.com Or on X (formerly Twitter): @jrgzztx.
