Phoenix, AZ: A man wanted for a deadly beating at a Manhattan hotel in New York last month has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of attempted murder and other felonies in Arizona for stabbing two women in metro Phoenix a week later.
Raad Noah Almansoori, 26, appeared in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday to face charges related to the stabbings that occurred on Feb. 17 in Phoenix and on Feb. 18 in the suburb of Surprise.
During the brief two-minute hearing, Almansoori only provided his name and birth date when requested by the court. Following the hearing, his attorney did not promptly return a phone call requesting a remark on behalf of his client.
Almansoori’s trial for the Arizona accusations was set for July 2nd.
The individual is said to have stabbed an 18-year-old woman at least three times in the neck in a McDonald’s restaurant washroom in the hamlet of Surprise. Police reportedly said that he stabbed another woman in Phoenix the day before.
New York police have identified Almansoori as a suspect in the murder of a lady on February 8 in the city. Denisse Oleas-Arancibia’s body was discovered by hotel staff on the floor of a hotel room. Authorities concluded that her death resulted from blunt force injuries to the head, and a broken clothes iron was discovered in close proximity.
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A political dispute has arisen between Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, due to the Arizona case.
Mitchell refused to send Almansoori back to New York for prosecution until he is tried in Arizona for the stabbings. Almansoori, now detained without bail for the Arizona allegations, stated during a court hearing on Monday that he will not voluntarily agree to extradition to New York while facing prosecution for the Arizona charges.