A Manhattan judge on Monday both denied and granted bids by Luigi Mangione to suppress key evidence in his state homicide case — critically, allowing prosecutors to present the alleged murder weapon in a significant setback for the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro’s written decision was published minutes before he took the bench at a packed hearing, where throngs of reporters and supporters of Mangione squeezed into the courtroom pews.
Carro in December held a weekslong hearing over the evidence, hearing from 17 witnesses — mostly officers from the police department in Altoona, PA — about the circumstances of Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald’s on Dec. 9, 2024, five days after Thompson was shot dead in broad daylight outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown.
The judge’s decision held that the search at the McDonald’s was improper and violated Mangione’s rights, finding anything retrieved at the fast food restaurant must be suppressed, including a loaded magazine, Mangione’s cellphone, a Faraday bag, his passport, his wallet and a computer chip.
However, he said he would allow items that the police discovered back at the precinct, including a 3D-printed pistol and what prosecutors have described as a manifesto.
The suspected shooter’s lawyers argued that Altoona cops violated Mangione’s rights by carrying out a search of his belongings without a warrant under the guise of looking for explosives. The attorneys also sought to bar statements he made to the police before he’d been warned of his right to remain silent. The judge ruled that some of his statements at the restaurant must be suppressed, including when an officer asked him if he had lied in presenting an ID under the name Mark Rosario.
Mangione, 28, of Maryland, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the case set for trial on Sept. 8. He also faces federal stalking charges in a parallel federal case slated for trial when his state matter resolves.
Authorities allege Mangione ambushed Thompson, a 50-year-old father of the two, as he arrived early to set up for an annual investor conference. Shell casings detectives discovered at the scene bore the words: deny, delay and defend — an apparent reference to health insurance companies denying claims.
With many Americans frustrated by increasingly expensive healthcare costs, Mangione has developed a cult following, his supporters attending all of his hearings and camping outside the courthouse with placards hailing him a hero.
Federal prosecutors earlier this year told a judge they were eager to begin presenting evidence to a jury to dispel Mangione’s folk hero image.
“Your honor need only look out the window to see the people who follow this defendant and believe that what he did was right,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Gentile said.
