By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon | New York Post
The hulking career criminal wanted for killing a Queens mom inside a Soho hotel room was back in court in Arizona Monday as the extradition flap between Maricopa County and Manhattan prosecutors remains in a stalemate.
Raad Almansoori, 26, who faces attempted murder, assault and kidnapping charges in Arizona, went before a judge in Maricopa County Superior Court and was denied bail — as County Attorney Rachel Mitchell continues to defy Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s request to ship him back to the Big Apple.
Arizona prosecutors say Almansoori was in the midst of a violent crime spree when he was busted by cops in Scottsdale on Feb. 18 — about 10 days after he allegedly beat and strangled Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38, to death inside the Soho 54 Hotel before fleeing to the southwestern state.
Almansoori was last in Maricopa County court on Friday, records show, two days after Mitchell made the shocking announcement that she would not allow Bragg to get his hands on the accused killer.
She said she doesn’t trust Bragg to keep Almansoori behind bars, citing his soft-on-crime reputation.
“We’re gonna keep him here,” Mitchell said on Wednesday. “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.”
Cops in Arizona said Almansoori carjacked and stabbed a woman in Phoenix on Feb. 17, and then kidnapped and stabbed a McDonald’s employee in nearby Surprise, Arizona, the next day.
Surveillance footage shows cops cornering the career criminal inside a parking garage before slapping on the handcuffs and taking the disheveled suspect into custody.
Bragg, who said he planned to extradite him back to New York to face murder charges, fired back at Michell on Thursday, telling reporters she was “grandstanding” and “playing politics” with a serious murder case.
“County DA Mitchell has, I don’t know how to say it, has gotten it wrong at every single turn,” he told reporters. “I don’t know how they do it in Arizona, but I know in this county, New York County, we routinely seek and get remand, which means the person is in custody in our murder cases. Those are the facts.”
Bragg said extradition is typically resolved over the phone between “professional” prosecutors, with murder cases routinely taking precedence over lesser crimes.
Oleas-Arancibia was working as an escort and got into a dispute with Alamansoori over money.
He allegedly beat and strangled the victim, and was caught on surveillance video leaving the crime scene wearing her pink tights after his own pants got drenched in blood.
The standoff between the two prosecutors remained in effect on Monday when Almansoori faced Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Lindsey Coates in court.
Coates ordered that Almansoori remain held without bail while the Arizona case moves forward.
