Topline
A Republican prosecutor in Arizona is refusing to extradite a man wanted for murder in New York City, claiming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s lenient bail policies would put others at risk, only weeks after Bragg’s office faced criticism for releasing suspects accused of attacking a police officer.
Key Facts
Raad Almansoori, a 26-year-old suspected of murdering a woman in a Manhattan hotel room on February 8, was arrested by police in Surprise, Arizona, on Sunday after stabbing one woman in a McDonalds and another while trying to steal her car on the road.
After being taken into custody, Almansoori confessed to the stabbings in Arizona and the murder in New York, Surprise Police Chief Benny Piña confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday morning.
However, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican prosecutor elected in 2022, announced at the same press conference that her office would refuse to comply with an extradition request from New York, citing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “treatment of violent criminals.”
Bragg’s office has been frequently criticized by conservatives as being too lenient on crime, with congressional Republicans even conducting a field hearing on “rampant crime” in his district in 2023, despite an overall decrease in murders, shootings, robberies, grand larceny and burglaries, according to the NYPD.
Mitchell said that her decision was not related to the murder investigation conducted by the New York Police Department, telling reporters “I know they did a hard job and a good job.”
Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for Bragg’s office, called Mitchell’s actions a “slap in the face” to the NYPD and the victim’s family, and accused the Arizona prosecutor of “playing political games in a murder investigation.”
Key Background
Bragg was elected in 2021 after running on a progressive platform of criminal justice reform. Shortly after taking office, Bragg announced he would take steps to “reduce pretrial incarceration,” only holding suspects on bail for “the most serious matters.” Bragg’s policies have frequently drawn criticism from conservatives, who accuse the progressive prosecutor of being soft on crime. His bail policies face increasing scrutiny after his office released six suspects who were suspected of beating an NYPD officer outside a migrant shelter near Times Square in January. One suspect was arrested immediately after the attack, but critics were outraged after the others seemingly walked free. Five more suspects were all indicted by a grand jury in February on charges of assault, obstruction of government and hindering prosecution. At the press conference on Wednesday, Mitchell emphasized that Almansoori was being held in Arizona without bail, “meaning there is no amount of money that he can post to get out of custody at this point,” the prosecutor said. “I think it’s safer to keep him here and keep him in custody so that he cannot be out doing this to individuals either in our state, county or anywhere in the United States.”
Contra
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office quickly pointed out that murder in New York City has decreased significantly since Bragg took office. Although violent crime, such as rape and assault rose between 2021 and 2022, murders began decreasing. In 2022, New York City’s murder rate was 5.42 per 100,000 people, according to statistics cited by FactCheck.org. Phoenix’s murder rate was more than double, at 11.6 per 100,000 people. Murder continued to decrease significantly in 2023, with the NYPD reporting murders down by 11.9% over the course of the year.
