Bullets in Mangione bag convinced police he was CEO killing suspect, court hears | Brian Thompson shooting

Moments after Luigi Mangione was handcuffed at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, an officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear.

That discovery, described in court Monday as Mangione fought to keep out evidence from his New York murder trial, convinced police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that Mangione was wanted in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier.

In body-worn camera video from Mangione’s arrest on December 9 last year, an officer is heard saying, “That’s him, man. That’s 100% him,” punctuating his remarks with profanities as Christy Wasser, the officer who was scanning the bag, held up the magazine.

Wasser, a 19-year Altoona police veteran, testified on the fourth day of a preliminary hearing in which Mangione tried to prevent prosecutors from using the magazine and other evidence against him, including a 9mm handgun and a notebook found during a later purse search.

The testimony shed light on the critical moments after Mangione was spotted at McDonald’s and the extraordinary steps police officers sometimes took to collect critical evidence that would link him to the crime.

Mangione’s attorneys argue that the items should be excluded because police did not have a search warrant and lacked grounds to justify a warrantless search. Prosecutors maintain that the search was legal and police eventually obtained a search warrant.

Wasser, who testified in full uniform, said Altoona police protocols require an immediate search of the suspect’s property during an arrest, in part for hazardous materials.

In body-worn camera footage shown in court, Wasser is heard saying he wanted to check the bag for a bomb before taking it out of McDonald’s. Despite that concern, he acknowledged in testimony Monday that police never cleared the restaurant of customers or employees.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. He appeared to be in good health on Monday, punching photographers and chatting with his lawyers as testimony continued.

The hearing, which was postponed Friday due to Mangione’s apparent illness, is for the state case only. His lawyers are making a similar attempt to exclude evidence in the federal case where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Prosecutors said the gun found in the backpack matched the gun used in the murder, and writings in the notebook showed Mangione’s disdain for health insurers and his ideas about killing a CEO at an investor conference.

Thompson, 50, was killed while walking to a Manhattan hotel for his company’s investor conference. In the footage captured on the security camera, a masked attacker is seen shooting him from behind. Police said the ammunition had the words “delay,” “deny” and “declare” written on it, mimicking phrases used to describe how insurance companies avoid paying for damages.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, about 230 miles from Manhattan, after police called 911.

Wasser testified that he went to the McDonald’s alone to help another officer, Joseph Detwiler. He said he had seen some coverage of Thompson’s killing on Fox News before that.

Police said Wasser began searching Mangione’s purse, and officers initially detained him on forgery and false identification charges after he admitted to giving Mangione a fake driver’s license. The same fake name was used by the gunman at a Manhattan boarding house days before the shooting.

Mangione, who was handcuffed at the time, was informed of his right to remain silent and exercised that right when officers asked if there was anything he should be concerned about.

Wasser told another officer that he wanted to check the bag for a bomb before leaving McDonald’s because he did not want to repeat an incident in which another Altoona officer accidentally brought a bomb into the police station.

“Did you call the bomb squad?” Mangione attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked.

“No. I haven’t found a bomb yet,” Wasser said.

According to body-worn camera footage, the first few items Wasser found were harmless: a hoagie, a loaf of bread and a smaller bag containing a passport, a cellphone and a computer chip.

Then she pulled out a pair of gray underwear and unwrapped them, revealing the magazine.

When he was sure there was no bomb, he suspended the search and put some items back in the bag. Body-worn camera footage shows some evidence, including Mangione’s laptop, being transported to the police station in a brown paper bag.

After an 11-minute drive to the police station, Wasser continued his search and almost immediately found the gun and silencer; The second discovery made him laugh and exclaim “beautiful,” according to the footage. Wasser said the gun was in a side pocket at McDonald’s that he didn’t search. Later, while cataloging everything in the bag, he found the notebook.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Wasser said at one point during the call.

When asked to explain, Friedman told Agnifilo that he was proud of the police department’s work in helping catch Thompson’s suspected killer.

The prosecutor in Blair County, Pennsylvania, stated that a judge signed a search warrant for the bag a few hours after the searches were completed. The arrest warrant provides a legal mechanism for Altoona police to turn over evidence to New York detectives, the official said.

As was the case throughout the case, assistant district attorney Joel Seidemann called Thompson’s killing an “execution” and referred to his notebook as a “manifesto”; Mangione’s lawyers said those terms were prejudicial and inappropriate.

Judge Gregory Carro said the statements “did not influence him in any way” but warned Seidemann that he “certainly will not do that at trial” when jurors are present.