NEW YORK (AP) — A judge said Tuesday he’s optimistic that a pretrial hearing will end this week in Luigi Mangione’s murder case regarding the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“Hopefully we wind up on Thursday,” Judge Gregory Carro expressed during the hearing which is in its third week of testimony.
Mangione, 27, is attempting to suppress evidence obtained during his arrest on December 9, 2024, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. This evidence includes a firearm and a notebook that prosecutors claim link him to Thompson’s shooting five days prior in Manhattan.
To date, prosecutors have called more than a dozen witnesses, with at least one more anticipated after a brief recess on Wednesday. Key testimonies on Tuesday came from a police evidence custodian from Pennsylvania, a homicide commander from New York City, and an investigative analyst from the Manhattan district attorney's office.
Having pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges of murder, the pretrial hearing focuses solely on the state case, and his defense team is making a similar motion in the federal context, where authorities are pursuing the death penalty against him.
Mangione’s arrest occurred when patrons identified him dining at a McDonald’s in Altoona, approximately 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan. A restaurant manager alerted authorities, suggesting he resembled a suspect in the CEO’s shooting.
The defense maintains that the seizure of items from Mangione's backpack should be inadmissible in court because police conducted the search without a warrant and without proper justification for a warrantless search.
Prosecutors assert that the search was valid as it coincided with an arrest, addressing concerns for their safety by ensuring the bag did not contain dangerous items. They acknowledged later obtaining a warrant.
The items collected included a 9 mm handgun linked by prosecutors to Thompson's murder and a notebook containing similar handwriting with purported threats against health insurance executives.
Officer George Featherstone from the Altoona police testified regarding the handling and logging of the evidence before it was transferred to New York authorities. NYPD Lieutenant David Leonardi elaborated on the urgency he felt to secure the evidence, personally driving it back to Manhattan for testing.
In addition, Investigative Analyst Anissa Weisel presented a timeline related to Mangione's arrest that some defense lawyers disputed due to perceived gaps in information. Judge Carro acknowledged their objection but stated he would consider the timeline as an aid in reviewing relevant footage and materials presented during the hearing.
