A New York judge on Monday tossed out key evidence found in the backpack of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the heart of Manhattan.
Judge Gregory Carro ruled that evidence obtained from Mangione’s backpack when he was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s must be suppressed, including a magazine, cellphone, passport, computer chip, and wallet.
A gun and notebook that prosecutors say connect Mangione to Thompson’s murder will still be allowed as evidence at the trial, which is set to begin on September 8 and last about six weeks.
The ruling is a partial win for Mangione’s defense team, who argued that the search of the backpack without a warrant violated his 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, according to ABC News.
The prosecution argued the officers acted “in deliberate and painstaking fashion” while searching 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.
Thompson was gunned down from behind in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2024, as he was walking to a hotel during his company’s annual investor conference.
Shell casings retrieved from the scene had the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” written on them, according to the New York Police Department. The words found on the shell casings have been connected to a 2010 book that was critical of the health insurance industry. Mangione’s fingerprints allegedly matched fingerprints found on shell casings at the murder scene.
The killing sparked a massive, nationwide five-day manhunt, which ended with Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which is more than 200 miles from Manhattan. At the fast food chain, police found a firearm, suppressor, and what appeared to be a manifesto in his backpack, The Daily Wire previously reported.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to the federal and state murder charges. In January, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed two of the four charges, including use of a firearm to commit murder, which made him eligible for the death penalty.
Garnett said she dismissed the charges “solely to preclude the death penalty as an available punishment when the jury determines if the Defendant caused Brian Thompson’s death,” The Daily Wire reported at the time.
Behind bars, Mangione has amassed a following of mostly Left-wing advocates angry with the American healthcare system. A legal fund supporting his defense has surpassed $1.5 million.
Mangione, if convicted of all charges, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
