An Arizona county prosecutor is refusing to allow the man accused of murdering a New York mom and getting away while wearing her leggings to be extradited to New York City to face charges over concerns about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s response to violent crime.
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Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell will face the same challenger in the Republican primary this year as she did in the 2022 special election Gina Godbehere.
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Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell warns about the importance of drug-related education of youth in her National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day statement Monday.
Mitchell cited the 2022 Arizona Youth Survey, in which 47% of eighth graders said they do not know of the deadly drug, according to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission.
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Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, is in hot water with Republicans after representing the Maricopa County Supervisors (MCBOS) twice asking for sanctions against Kari Lake over her election lawsuits. A judge derisively dismissed the second request a couple of weeks ago, prompting the Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) to censure Mitchell on June 6.
Brian Ference, member at large with the MCRC and behind many of the group’s recent censures, told The Arizona Sun Times, “The recent censures show an unprecedented level of unity of Republicans holding their elected officials accountable. Just like with Rusty Bowers, the critical part is to take them as a call to action to door knock and inform the voters and then primary them.”
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The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) announced Thursday that Rudy Gomez, 29, has been indicted after brutally assaulting Phoenix Police Officer George Manciu during a domestic abuse incident. In response, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) said the indictment was the right call.
“The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association is pleased that the Grand Jury found sufficient probable cause to indict the suspect in the brutal attack on our officer. Any other outcome would have been wrong. We thank the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for its pursuit of justice,” PLEA said in a statement shared with The Arizona Sun Times.
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Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R) announced Friday that former Mesa Police Officer Kaylon Hall was indicted by the Maricopa County Grand Jury for two counts of reckless endangerment.
“As County Attorney, I will hold those who break the law accountable. An individual’s profession does not impact decision making in my office when deciding if criminal charges are warranted. The community’s trust in our criminal justice system can only be achieved if those sworn to serve and protect are held accountable when criminal acts occur,” said Mitchell.
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Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R) announced Friday that Devon Ray Sharma, 28, of Chandler, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of minors over the internet.
“Young women and teenagers can be easily exploited by internet predators. It takes courage for victims of these crimes to come forward and the bravery demonstrated by the victims in this case has prevented future acts of exploitation by this individual,” said Mitchell in a press release.
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The Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) released a statement Tuesday slamming Maricopa County Attorney (MCA) candidate Julie Gunnigle for an “anti-cop attitude” and having staff members who have previously opposed police.
“Violent crime is on the rise across Arizona as a direct result of Democratic Leadership at the local and county level. Statistics and common-sense logic support a clear conclusion: Soft on crime messaging and coddling criminals DOES NOT WORK,” aid Arizona GOP Political Director Jeremiah Cota in a press release.
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Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell directed prosecutors Tuesday to file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against two Scottsdale-area adults who allegedly murdered an 11-year-old boy.
The adults are Stephanie Davis and Thomas Desharnais, who were indicted in February on 11 felony charges including first-degree murder, child abuse, and tampering with evidence. The charges stem from events the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office dates back to 2019 when Davis and Desharnais allegedly inflicted bodily harm to a minor under their care.
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The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed county prosecutor Rachel Mitchell as its County Attorney on Wednesday in a unanimous vote.
Mitchell has served in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for 30 years. Most recently, she served as the head of the Criminal Division.
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Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has come under fire for her handling of the electronic system used to collect online signatures for political candidates, E-Qual. The system was not updated to accommodate new redistricting, which has made it very difficult for campaigns to collect enough signatures in time to make the ballot this fall. On March 17, Hobbs took the entire system offline, making it impossible to collect any signatures at all online, so Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre on March 29 to “investigate and take any appropriate enforcement actions (civil and criminal).”
McIntyre told the Arizona Sun Times, “I can confirm that we have received the request and begun the investigative process.”
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With Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel resigning just three weeks before signatures are due for candidates running for that position, several attorneys have decided to run and are now racing around trying to collect 4,300 valid signatures by April 4. Since voters can only sign one candidate’s petition in the race, the candidates are quickly trying to distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack.
Former Arizona legislator Thayer Verschoor, who is currently running for Maricopa County Supervisor, issued a list of questions to ask the candidates, which the Arizona Sun Times requested the candidates answer. Not one of the candidates bothered to respond with answers by the time this article was posted.
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Republican Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel has admitted she has a history of alcohol abuse, and it has led to five of the top prosecutors in her office asking her to resign. Adel issued a statement immediately after their letter became public, refusing to resign.
Former Maricopa County Treasurer Royce Flora, who worked with Adel until January of 2021, told The Arizona Sun Times, “It was clear from the beginning she couldn’t do her actual job. She behaved like just another sycophant for the Board of Supervisors. The substance abuse alone should have disqualified her as a prosecutor and her deputies exposing her incompetence verifies what we already knew.”
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