Key takeaways:
- Judge Gregory Carro ruled that a gun and notebook recovered from Luigi Mangione's backpack can be used as evidence in his state murder trial.
- Other items found during an initial warrantless search of Mangione's backpack, including a loaded magazine and cellphone, were suppressed.
- Mangione faces nine state felony charges including second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty; his state trial is scheduled for September 8.
A New York judge ruled Monday that prosecutors can use a gun and a notebook, described as a “manifesto,” as evidence in the state murder trial of Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. Judge Gregory Carro rejected the defense’s argument that these items were seized illegally, delivering a partial victory to prosecutors. However, Carro ruled that other items found during an initial search of Mangione’s backpack at the time of his arrest must be suppressed. These include a loaded magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet, and computer chip.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, roughly 280 miles west of Manhattan, where he was eating breakfast. The defense contended that the search of Mangione’s backpack was an “improper warrantless search” because the backpack was not on his person but sitting on a table, and that law enforcement should have obtained a warrant before searching it. The judge agreed that the initial search at the McDonald’s was improper, noting it occurred in public view and without a warrant. However, he ruled that a subsequent search of the backpack at the Altoona police station was valid, allowing the gun and notebook to be admitted as evidence.
Mangione, 28, faces nine state felony charges, including second-degree murder and weapons offenses. He has pleaded not guilty. The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, as New York does not have the death penalty. He is also charged federally with two counts of stalking, each carrying a maximum sentence of life without parole, and has pleaded not guilty in that case as well.
The shooting of Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, occurred outside a Manhattan hotel as he walked to an investors’ conference. The killing prompted a widespread manhunt across the Northeast. Authorities have said shell casings recovered at the scene bore the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose,” terms linked to the for-profit healthcare industry.
Legal expert Richard Schoenstein, not affiliated with the case, called the judge’s ruling a win for prosecutors, noting that “the gun and the writing that suggest a motive are pretty much the best evidence in the case.” He explained the complexity of the search issue, given that Mangione was not wearing the backpack at the time of arrest.
The state trial, originally scheduled for June 8, has been postponed to September 8, with jury selection for the federal trial set to begin October 5 and opening statements expected in late October or early November. Defense attorneys cited the need for more time due to representing Mangione in multiple cases, including the recent high-profile sexual assault case of Harvey Weinstein, which ended in a mistrial. Prosecutors suggested the postponement was related to the defense’s other commitments.
Mangione has been detained at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest in December 2024. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg emphasized the seriousness of the case, stating, “This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has been working day in and day out to bring the defendant to justice.”
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