NEW YORK (TNND) — A judge overseeing the case of suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione ruled on Monday whether key evidence against him can be used when his state murder trial begins in September.
New York Judge Gregory Carro said the seizure of Mangione’s backpack during his arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s five days after the shooting was unconstitutional, but the subsequent search of the bag at the police station was lawful.
During the search at the station, police found the handgun allegedly used in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024.
Carro also determined that most of Mangione’s statement to police would be admissible, except for some about his alleged fake ID, after police read him his Miranda rights.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, who is overseeing the federal stalking case, ruled in January that the same evidence could be used during Mangione’s federal trial, which is scheduled to begin in January 2027.
Defense lawyers have argued that the warrantless search of the backpack violated Mangione’s constitutional rights.
“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.
Federal prosecutors have argued police were justified in searching the backpack to ensure it contained nothing dangerous and said Mangione’s statements to officers were voluntary and made before he was under arrest.
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Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges, which carry the possibility of life in prison. He is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn while awaiting trial.