Luigi Mangione state trial: Key evidence, including gun, allowed; some evidence suppressed
The judge overseeing Luigi Mangione's state murder case ruled Monday that certain evidence seized from his backpack during a search at the Pennsylvania McDonald's where he was arrested must be suppressed, while evidence seized at the stationhouse in Altoona, Pennsylvania -- including the alleged murder weapon -- will be allowed.
New York Judge Gregory Carro determined Mangione's backpack was not in a "grabbable area" while he was detained by Altoona police in the McDonald’s.
"The search of the backpack at the McDonald’s was an improper warrantless search," Carro said.
"Therefore, the evidence found during the search of the backpack at the McDonald’s must be suppressed, including the magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip," he said.
Carro decided the subsequent search of the backpack at the stationhouse "as a valid inventory search," so the items discovered there, including the alleged 3D-printed gun used, a notebook and handwritten slips of paper with purported escape routes, will be allowed at trial.
Prosecutors have said Mangione's notebook entries speak to motive.
"The target is insurance," one entry said. "It checks every box."
Certain statements Mangione made to Altoona officers will be suppressed, including his response when he was asked why he had initially given a false name.
Statements Mangione made to two Pennsylvania corrections officers are allowed, including a wide-ranging conversation about healthcare, overseas travel and literature. Mangione asked one of the officers how he was being perceived in the media for his alleged crime and expressed a desire to make a public statement.
Mangione attended Monday’s hearing wearing a dark suit. He sat at the defense table as two court officers stood behind him. A small group of Mangione’s supporters, some in "Free Luigi" shirts, watched from the back rows.
Mangione's state trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8 for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and Carro's decision will help define the contours of the high-profile criminal trial.
Defense lawyers have argued that the search of the backpack without a warrant violated Mangione's rights, and have repeatedly urged Carro to block prosecutors from using the evidence.
"At the hearing, Altoona law enforcement officers repeatedly attempted to justify their warrantless search of Mr. Mangione's backpack ... instead, all these officers demonstrated was an utter disregard for a defendant's constitutional rights and a shocking ignorance of basic search and seizure caselaw," Mangione's attorneys wrote in a state court filing.
Lawyers from the Manhattan district attorney's office pushed back on those claims, arguing the officers acted "in deliberate and painstaking fashion" when they searched the backpack.
"At every step, the Altoona officers responded to this unexpected and alarming situation reasonably," Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann wrote in a court filing, adding that officers later obtained a warrant for the bag "establishing an independent source for recovering the backpack's contents."
Mangione pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges after he was arrested for allegedly gunning down Thompson, a husband and father of two, on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024.
As Mangione prepares for his upcoming state trial in September, his supporters continue to fund part of his legal defense. Earlier this month, on Mangione's 28th birthday, his legal defense fund surpassed $1.5 million.
His federal trial is scheduled for January 2027.
