Judge says she’ll hold a limited hearing on seizure of Luigi Mangione’s backpack
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge said Monday he will hold a brief hearing within the next two weeks on procedures he said allowed police to seize and look at Luigi Mangione’s backpack when he was arrested in the killing. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said the trial in the death penalty case will be limited to just one witness: an officer from the police department in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested in December 2024.
He said the officer must have “sufficient authority and experience to testify about established or standard procedures used to secure, preserve, and, if possible, inventory the personal property of an arrested person in a public place” at the time of Mangione’s arrest.
He ordered prosecutors to meet with Mangione’s attorneys on an available trial date and arranged for Mangione to be arraigned earlier. A conference scheduled for January 30. Since the hearing will focus on procedures, the officer called as a witness “did not necessarily have any personal involvement” in Mangione’s arrest, Garnett said.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges, which could have led to a life sentence.
Mangione’s lawyers want Garnett to ban prosecutors from using some of the items found in his backpack; these include a gun that police say matches the gun used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which Mangione allegedly described his intention to “screw up” a health insurance executive. Reiterating their claims at a recent state court hearing, the lawyers argued that the search was illegal because police had not yet obtained a search warrant.
Officers began searching Mangione’s backpack at the McDonald’s restaurant where he was located. arrested She eats breakfast while walking to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference on Dec. 9, 2024, five days after Thompson was killed. In the footage captured on the security camera, a masked attacker is seen shooting him from behind. Altoona is approximately 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.
Prosecutors said officers searched the bag legally because Altoona police protocols required an immediate search of the suspect’s property for hazardous materials at the time of arrest, and police later obtained a search warrant. Among the items found at McDonald’s was a loaded gun magazine, according to police officer testimony at a recent hearing.
The police continued to search the bag at the police station and found the gun and silencer. They conducted what is known as an inventory search and found the notebook and other notes that appeared to be a to-do list and possible escape plans, according to testimony. Prosecutors said the search, which included cataloging every item of the suspect’s seized property, was also required under Altoona police policy.
The laws regarding how police obtain search warrants are complex and often contested in criminal cases.
As part of his investigation, Garnett ordered federal prosecutors to provide him with a copy of the affidavit filed to obtain a federal search warrant in the matter. Mangione’s attorneys argue that searching the backpack before obtaining a warrant may have affected the way the affidavit was written, but prosecutors say the document does not specify any details about items such as notebook writings.
