Judge tosses select backpack evidence in Luigi Mangione's state murder case
A New York judge agreed to suppress evidence from Luigi Mangione's backpack, finding that some items were unlawfully searched by police during his 2024 arrest at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, though key evidence like the firearm and manifesto will still be admissible.
MANHATTAN (CN) — A New York judge on Monday agreed to suppress evidence from Luigi Mangione's backpack, finding that some of the items inside were unlawfully searched by police officers during his 2024 arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled that evidence, including a gun magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip recovered from Luigi Mangione's backpack during his arrest, will be inadmissible at the 28-year-old's upcoming state murder trial.
Prosecutors argued police could search the bag without a warrant because it might have contained a bomb or gun. But Carro rejected that argument, finding "the officers' actions were inconsistent with merely performing a safety search."
"Even if it were a legitimate concern, there was no possibility at the time of the search that the defendant might retrieve a gun from the backpack, and thus no exigency," Carro wrote in a 17-page ruling.
The judge also noted Mangione was "cooperative, described by several officers as 'compliant' and 'not combative,' and offered no resistance to the frisk or the placing of the handcuffs."
The ruling was a limited victory for the defense. While Carro found items uncovered at the McDonald's must be suppressed, he ruled the remaining evidence in the backpack was lawfully discovered later during an inventory search at the police station.
That means jurors will still see key evidence recovered from the bag, including a firearm, silencer and a so-called "manifesto."
Carro announced the highly anticipated ruling from the bench five months after he presided over hearings on the admissibility of that evidence.
The court reviewed hours of bodycam footage from the unusually lengthy pretrial proceedings, which combined a Mapp hearing, called to determine the admissibility of physical evidence, with a Huntley hearing, called to determine the admissibility of statements a defendant makes to police officers.
Mangione's defense team argued that the backpack was unlawfully searched at the scene and should be inadmissible at his looming trial.
They claimed the Altoona cops boxed Mangione in at the restaurant and did not make it clear he was free to leave. Then, when they took Mangione into custody for handing them a fake ID with the name "Mark Rosario," they poured through the contents of his backpack without a warrant, uncovering what prosecutors say is the murder weapon and handwritten notes confessing to the crime.
One of the notes made reference to wanting to "wack" a healthcare CEO — a powerfully blunt piece of evidence for prosecutors. The victim, Brian Thompson, was the chief executive of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, whom Mangione is accused of shooting in the back in Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024.
Unfortunately for the defense, Carro did not suppress that notebook on Monday.
"The cataloging and photographing of the notebook was a valid part of the inventory search," the judge found.
However, Carro did rule that a limited set of statements Mangione made to officers during his arrest will be off-limits to prosecutors. When two cops asked Mangione why he lied about his name and gave them a fake license, for instance, Carro said Mangione was in a "police-dominated atmosphere" — effectively in custody without yet being read his Miranda warnings.
Mangione was seated at the defense table during Monday's brief appearance, forgoing his usual federal prison garb for a dark blue suit.
He is set to go to trial for second-degree murder in Carro's courtroom in September.
Mangione also faces a dueling prosecution in federal court. In that case, set for trial in early 2027, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled on the admissibility of the backpack months ago, quashing the defense's effort to suppress it.
"The entire contents of the backpack fall squarely within several exceptions to the warrant requirement," the Joe Biden appointee wrote in a ruling from Jan. 30.
Mangione could face life in prison if convicted in either case. He initially faced the death penalty for the federal charges, but Garnett precluded prosecutors from seeking his execution earlier this year.