Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel, appeared in federal court in New York as a judge weighed whether to allow key evidence in a death penalty case that has drawn national attention.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to murder, stalking and weapons charges. He appeared in prison garb before U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, who is considering whether items recovered from a backpack searched by Altoona, Pennsylvania, police can be introduced at trial.
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Prosecutors argue officers lawfully arrested Mangione in Altoona for providing fake identification and were permitted to search his bag for safety before transporting it, framing the encounter as a standard inventory and protective search. The government called Altoona Police Department Deputy Chief Nathan Snyder to testify about the department’s written policies for securing, safeguarding and cataloging property recovered during arrests in public places.
Garnett ordered an Altoona officer to detail the department’s procedures on the stand, signaling that her ruling could turn on whether the search aligned with department protocols and Fourth Amendment exceptions for inventories and officer safety.
Defense lawyers are pressing to suppress the backpack evidence and have separately asked Garnett to dismiss the federal indictment over what they describe as legal deficiencies. In the alternative, they want to bar the Justice Department from seeking the death penalty, alleging violations of Mangione’s constitutional rights.
The case stems from the high-profile killing of Thompson, a top health insurance executive whose death sparked condemnation from public officials and debate among Americans angered by health care costs and insurance practices. Prosecutors say Thompson was gunned down on a Manhattan sidewalk near a hotel, an attack that triggered a federal investigation alongside a separate state case.
Garnett has scheduled jury selection to begin in early September, setting a brisk timetable for a trial that could hinge on the admissibility of the Altoona search and what, if any, evidence from the backpack reaches jurors.
Separately, Mangione faces murder and related charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. In that case, a different judge is also considering a defense request to suppress the backpack evidence. No trial date has been set in the state prosecution.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both matters.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
