Prosecutors in Arizona are refusing to send an accused prostitute killer to New York, thanks to what they call the Manhattan District Attorney’s lax treatment of “violent criminals.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell told reporters she has instructed her staff not to cooperate with plans to return Raad Noan Almansoori, 26, to New York, where he is wanted for the alleged murder of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38.
“After seeing the treatment of violent criminals in the New York area by the Manhattan District Attorney there, Alvin Bragg, I think it is safer to keep him here and keep him in custody so he can do this too.” cannot do to individuals in our state. County or anywhere in the United States, Mitchell said NBC News.
“This is not the intention of the New York Police Department at all. “I know they have done hard work, they have done well, but we will not agree to extradition,” she added.
‘I have instructed my extradition lawyers not to agree to that. We’ll keep him here.’
Raad Almansoori, 26, was arrested by police in Arizona for a separate attack on another woman
When staff discovered Denisse Oleas-Arancibia’s body on the morning of February 8, the 38-year-old was lying under a blanket and next to a broken iron, having checked in the day before.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (pictured) told reporters she has instructed her staff not to cooperate with plans to return Raad Noan Almansoori, 26, to New York, where he is wanted for the alleged murder of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38
Mitchell said she didn’t trust Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (pictured) to go after “violent criminals,” citing his history as a reason for refusing extradition
Emily Tuttle, a representative for Bragg, said it is “deeply disturbing” that Mitchell is “playing political games in a murder investigation.”
She added that the prosecutor’s actions are insulting to the “NYPD and all of our law enforcement partners,” according to NBC.
Almansoori is in custody on suspicion of murdering Queens sex worker Oleas-Arancibia by strangling her and hitting her in the head at the Soho 54 hotel on February 8.
He was arrested in Arizona after stabbing another woman at a McDonald’s.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the NYPD revealed new details, including that Almansoori was out on bail at the time of the murder for attacking and sexually assaulting another escort in Florida in April 2023.
After being arrested on these charges, he later posted his own bail in September last year.
He also admitted to assaulting three more women.
“We are working with our partners to arrange extradition so he can be charged with his murder here,” NYPD Chief Joseph Kenny said.
Kenny also revealed that Almansoori has an “extensive” history of state arrests, having previously been arrested in Florida, Texas and Arizona.
Surveillance footage of Almansoori, captured after Oleas-Arancibia’s murder, wearing a bodysuit on a well-lit Manhattan street.
A surveillance footage image shows the suspect in Oleas-Arancibia’s gruesome murder wearing a bodysuit in Manhattan
Oleas-Arancibia’s death has been formally ruled a homicide (photo: interior of the room where Oleas-Arancibia was found)
Oleas-Arancibia died of neck compression and blunt head trauma, a spokesperson for the city medical examiner’s office said
A bloody iron was found near her body. Police also recovered bloody pants with a receipt inside from the hotel room
Oleas-Arancibia (pictured left) came to the United States five years ago, leaving behind family, including one of her sons
Confirming the timeline of events, Kenny said Almansoori purchased a plane ticket from Florida to New York on January 26.
According to Kenny, he has credit card use in the Big Apple three days later and visits an escort in Upper Manhattan on February 6.
Oleas-Arancibia’s body was found on the morning of February 8, and four days later Almansoori was said to have flown back to Arizona from Newark.
Officials in Arizona took him into custody Sunday after he stabbed a woman at McDonald’s after dragging her into the ladies’ room and holding her against her will.
Police say Almansoori was arrested shortly after he tried to flee in a stolen car and admitted to a previous stabbing in Phoenix while in custody. In that incident, a woman was stabbed when a man with a knife tried to steal her car.
Almansoori was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and robbery.
He was also charged with theft, assault, theft and criminal damage in the separate Phoenix investigation. He is being held without bond.
Kenny added that the extradition could take “days, weeks, months.”
Police said last week they had used “extensive video” to track down the person of interest in Oleas-Arancibia’s death.