Prosecutors in Arizona have expressed reluctance to extradite Raad Almansoori, the man accused of murdering a woman in SoHo, New York. Almansoori is currently in custody in Arizona, where he faces charges for stabbing two women.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg seeks to bring him to New York for charges related to the SoHo murder. However, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell stated that her office won’t agree to extradition due to concerns about the treatment of violent criminals by the Manhattan DA.
Mitchell claimed that mandatory prison sentences in Arizona make it safer to keep Almansoori in custody there. She cited observations of the treatment of violent criminals by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg as a reason for not agreeing to extradition.
SoHo Hotel Murder Suspect (Credits: New York Post)
The comments were labeled “deeply disturbing” by a spokesperson from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, accusing Mitchell of playing political games in a murder investigation.
The case involves Almansoori, who admitted to killing someone in New York, according to Arizona police. The NYPD believes he attacked Denisse Oleas-Arancibia in SoHo, using an iron to kill her.
Almansoori faces additional charges, including sexual assault in Florida. Prosecutors in Arizona have been critical of Bragg’s office, leading to a rare refusal to agree to extradition, a move deemed as constitutionally questionable and politically motivated by legal experts.
