By Staff Reporter |
Candidate Gina Godbehere criticized her opponent, incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, for not heeding the extradition request of a murder suspect from Alvin Bragg, Democratic district attorney in New York.
Mitchell refused to extradite murder suspect Raad Almansoori, 26, expressing concern over Bragg’s ability to properly prosecute Almansoori. Almansoori was arrested in Arizona after stabbing two women; he was also the suspect in the New York murder of another woman, 38-year-old Denisse Oleas-Arancibia. Mitchell said she could guarantee Almansoori would be imprisoned for an appropriate amount of time, whereas she felt that he would not be under Bragg.
“We have two very violent crimes here, we have two women that were stabbed and he is facing a lengthy mandatory prison sentence here. And even though there’s a homicide in New York, we can guarantee that he’s going to stay in custody here,” said Mitchell. “Let me be clear, my heart goes out to the next of kin in New York, and I’m not casting aspersions on the NYPD either, they did a hard job in putting this case together, but we have a case here and we have him in custody.”
Godbehere told KFNN last month that Mitchell lacked the authority to refuse Bragg’s request.
“I have a real problem of what she did by calling out Bragg on that issue — because unless my opponent was running for governor, she has no say or no role in any of that,” said Godbehere.
Bragg’s tenure has been marked with a drop in conviction rates, due to a decline in the number of cases his office has chosen to prosecute. When the Manhattan DA first came into office in 2021, he swore to not prosecute low-level crimes such as traffic infractions, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, subway-fare evasion, or prostitution.
The DA also pledged to not imprison mentally ill individuals who committed crimes.
In one of the numerous times Bragg’s office made headlines in 2022, his team dropped multiple larceny charges against an alleged gang member with a lengthy rap sheet — 46 prior arrests — instead opting to require the member to attend a handful of social worker counseling sessions.
Godbehere is campaigning as a Republican. As reported by The Arizona Daily Independent, Godbehere’s campaign staffer has also been critical of mainstream Republican candidates and stances, and reportedly indicated that he voted for President Joe Biden.
Godbehere previously challenged Mitchell in the 2022 election. Ahead of that year’s primary election, Godbehere issued a retracted comment erroneously advising voters on the Active Early Voting List that ballots dropped off on the deadline day would be rendered provisional.
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