AZ attorney Rachel Mitchell explains why she refused to extradite murder suspect Raad Almansoori to New York
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell explained why she was unwilling to extradite Raad Almansoori, 26, who is wanted in New York for the alleged killing of 38-year-old Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, on the February 22 episode of 'Fox & Friends.'
The Arizona prosecutor told host Ainsley Earhardt that her concern over Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's supposed soft-on-crime policies influenced her decision.
Almansoori, who is reportedly a career criminal according to Fox News, is also accused of stabbing two women in Arizona. The murder suspect, who is currently in custody in Arizona, is accused of other crimes in Florida and Texas.
Why is Rachel Mitchell against extraditing Raad Almansoori?
"I'm putting the victims first and making sure that he (Almansoori) stays in custody," told Mitchell to Earhardt, explaining, "And again, this is not casting aspersions on NYPD, but… it was just a couple of weeks ago that some of the illegal immigrants that were in New York City who beat up on police officers were let go."
She added, "They were flipping the camera off as they walked out of jail, and guess where they ended up? Four of them ended up in Maricopa County, and they had to be taken into custody here. I don't want that to happen. I don't want this individual getting out and be able to victimize more people."
The announcement was initially made by Mitchell at a press conference on February 21, where she reportedly stated, "I know there's been a discussion about New York wanting to extradite this individual and this is not aimed at the New York Police Department at all, I know they did a hard job, a good job, but we will not be agreeing to extradition."
"I've instructed my extradition attorneys not to agree to that. We’re going to keep him here, these are mandatory prison sentences," continued the Maricopa County attorney.
She further noted, "And having observed the treatment of violent criminals in the New York area by the Manhattan D.A. there, Alvin Bragg, I think it’s safer to keep him here and keep him in custody so that he cannot be out and doing this to individuals either in our state or county or anywhere in the United States."
On 'Fox & Friends', Mitchell emphasized Arizona had every right to prosecute the accused first, stating, "Since we have serious offenses here, we have the right to keep him where he is. So we're going to do that."
"I want to be very clear to the public, we're not saying that he will never be prosecuted in New York for what he did, but we're saying we're going first. And that way, when we secure a prison sentence on him, that has to be honored when he is extradited to New York City," expressed the attorney.
Manhattan District Attorney's Office responds to Rachel Mitchell's unwillingness to extradite Raad Almansoori
The Office of District Attorney Alvin Bragg called out Mitchell for using the criminal justice proceeding to play "political games."
Emily Tuttle, the DA's representative issued a statement on February 21, saying, "It is deeply disturbing that DA Mitchell is playing political games in a murder investigation," as per Fox News.
It further said, "New York's murder rate is less than half of that of Phoenix, because of the hard work of the NYPD. 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."
