DA in Arizona refusing to extradite suspected NYC sex worker killer, doesn't trust Bragg to prosecute

A top prosecutor in Arizona says she will not extradite a suspect who is wanted in New York City for the brutal slaying of a sex worker, blasting controversial Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s record of prosecuting violent criminals. 

At a Wednesday press briefing, Maricopa County Attorney General Rachel Mitchell said she would not release 26-year-old Raad Almansoori to authorities in New York City, saying it is safer for the general public to keep him locked up in Arizona rather than risk him being potentially let go under Bragg.

Almansoori, whom Mitchell labeled as "dangerous and violent," is wanted by the NYPD for the horrific killing of 38-year-old Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, a mother of two who was found dead inside the SoHo 54 Hotel on Watts Street on Feb. 8. Police say she was killed by a suspect who beat her over the head with an iron, and bits of plastic from the appliance were found embedded in her skull.

Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, left, and Raad Almansoori, center and right. (Fox 5, Surpise Police Department and NYPD)

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Almansoori was arrested by police in Arizona earlier this week after police say he stabbed two women there — he tried to rape one of them in a McDonald’s restroom. He was out on bail at the time of Oleas-Arancibia’s slaying on charges that he kidnapped another sex worker and sexually assaulted her in Sumter County, Florida, in 2023.

Mitchell says she doesn’t trust Bragg to prosecute Almansoori, despite the gravity of his alleged crimes. 

"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," Mitchell said. "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," she said.

"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," Mitchell continued.

"He is being held without bond, meaning there is no amount of money that he can post to get out of custody at this point."

Maricopa County, Arizona, Attorney General Rachel Mitchell said she would not release 26-year-old Raad Almansoori to authorities in New York City, saying it is safer for the general public to keep him locked up in Arizona rather than risk him being potentially let go under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Fox 10 Phoenix)

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Bragg has come under fire several times during his tenure as Manhattan DA as critics say he is soft on crime and does not prosecute the most violent criminals. Several illegal migrants who were arrested for attacking two NYPD officers in Times Square were initially let go without bail. 

Bragg was also ridiculed for cutting a sweetheart deal with a career criminal who went on to punch a woman randomly; his slap on the wrist for a man who viciously assaulted a 55-year-old nurse; and jailing, yet ultimately releasing, the bodega owner who killed an aggressive ex-convict who attacked him on murder charges. He is also prosecuting former President Donald Trump for alleged hush-money payments ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

A spokesperson for Bragg shot back at Mitchell’s comments, saying that murders and shootings are down since he took office, while the Big Apple’s murder rate is less than that of Phoenix, Arizona’s capital.

"It is deeply disturbing that D.A. Mitchell is playing political games in a murder investigation. In Manhattan, we are serious about New Yorkers' safety, which is why murders are down 24% and shootings are down 38% since Bragg took office," the spokesperson said via a statement posted on X.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was criticized on Wednesday by Maricopa County, Arizona, Attorney General Rachel Mitchell. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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"New York’s murder rate is less than half of that of Phoenix, Arizona because of the hard work of the NYPD and all of our law enforcement partners."

"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," the spokesperson added.

The NYPD had been searching for Almansoori, who they say was seen leaving the scene wearing the same tight leggings Oleas-Arancibia had on when she checked into the hotel the day before. A pair of blood-splattered men's pants were found alongside Oleas-Arancibia's body, police say.

Police say Raad Almansoori was seen wearing Denisse Oleas-Arancibia's leggings after she was killed. (NYPD)

Oleas-Arancibia came to the U.S. five years ago from Ecuador with her 18-year-old son, while she left her other son behind. 

Almansoori was nabbed in a stolen car in Arizona on Sunday by police who say they were chasing him for the attack on the woman at the McDonald’s restaurant, whom he stabbed several times.

Almansoori was arrested on a slew of charges, including attempted homicide, robbery and two assault charges. He also has an outstanding warrant in Texas.

Fox News’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.