Soho hotel slay suspect won’t be extradited to NYC to face murder charges, Arizona judge rules
NY Post
In a major blow to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an Arizona judge said Monday that the brute accused of viciously beating a Queens mom to death inside a Soho hotel room won’t be sent back to the Big Apple to face murder charges.
Court Commissioner Barbara Spencer said Raad Almansoori, 26, refused to consent to extradition and will stay in Arizona to stand trial for attempted murder, dashing Bragg’s hopes of getting the accused killer back to Manhattan over the objections of Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, KSAZ-TV reported.
Manhattan prosecutors said they now plan to petition Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs to intervene.
“Nothing can happen on the fugitive case other than there could be what’s called a governor’s directive which is the document that would hold you instead of the governor’s warrant or you would choose to sign a waiver,” Spencer told Almansoori in court.
Almansoori, the only suspect in the Feb. 7 beating death of 38-year-old Denisse Oleas-Arancibia at the Soho 54 Hotel, fled to Arizona after the slaying and faces attempted murder charges for attacking two women there days later.
Bragg and Mitchell have since been embroiled in a legal scuffle over who would get the first shot at Almansoori — with Manhattan prosecutors claiming their murder case took precedence over the lesser charges of attempted murder.
