There's been a fiery war of words between two prominent prosecutors over the fate of murder suspect Raad Almonsoori.
Almonsoori is accused of beating a woman to death in a Manhattan hotel room earlier this month, and then assaulting two women in Arizona nine days later before being captured.
What You Need To Know
- Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is on defense after again facing criticism over how his office handles cases with violent suspects
- An Arizona prosecutor is refusing to extradite a suspect wanted for murder in Manhattan
- Bragg pushed back Thursday afternoon, saying the Arizona prosecutor is playing political games
During a press conference in Arizona Wednesday, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said she would not cooperate with any attempt to have Almonsoori extradited to New York, saying, “Having observed the treatment of violent criminals in the New York area by the Manhattan DA there, Alvin Bragg, I think it’s safer to keep him here and keep him in custody.”
“It is deeply disturbing to me that a member of my profession, a member of law enforcement, would choose to play political games in a murder case,” Bragg responded Thursday during a press briefing in his office.
Mitchell also took aim at Bragg Thursday on Fox News, saying, “Even though there’s a homicide in New York, we can guarantee that he is going to stay in custody here.”
Bragg pushed back, telling reporters, “Here in this county, New York County, we routinely seek and get remand, which means the person is in custody.”
When it comes to whether Almoonsori should stand trial first for murder in New York City or attempted murder in Arizona, Bragg said those decisions are typically made after prosecutors in each jurisdiction have a conversation with each other.
NY1 asked Bragg if Mitchell called Manhattan prosecutors to discuss her extradition concerns. Bragg responded, “She had a press conference.”