Judge rules gun and notebook admissible in Mangione murder trial

A New York judge ruled Monday that a gun and writings found in Luigi Mangione’s backpack after his December 2024 arrest can be used as evidence in his state murder trial, but suppressed other items.

Judge Gregory Carro of the New York State Supreme Court ruled that certain evidence “must be suppressed, including the magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip” recovered when Mangione was detained at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Carro said those items were obtained through an “improper and warrantless search” of the then-26-year-old suspect, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Prosecutors will be allowed to present items discovered during a subsequent search at a police station, including a gun and a notebook, Carro ruled.

The judge also ordered that some of Mangione’s initial questioning by officers at the fast-food restaurant be excluded from trial, specifically questions about Mangione lying about his name and whether he had a fake identification card.

However, Carro ruled that prosecutors can admit evidence from later questioning when Mangione was in custody.

Mangione is accused of shooting and killing Thompson on a Manhattan street on Dec. 4, 2024. He faces state charges including second-degree murder, several firearms counts, and stalking. He has pleaded not guilty.

Mangione also faces a separate federal case, in which he has also pleaded not guilty.

He was arrested in Altoona several days after Thompson’s shooting, following a nationwide manhunt.

Mangione’s defense team had aggressively sought to exclude all evidence from the McDonald’s stop and some of his statements, arguing that police improperly searched his backpack without a warrant and failed to properly administer Miranda warnings.

The court heard several days of arguments over the evidence late last year. Prosecutors maintained that the searches and questioning were lawful.

Although getting some evidence suppressed is a win for Mangione’s legal team, prosecutors will still present two critical pieces of evidence — the alleged murder weapon and writings by Mangione — before a jury.

Mangione appeared in court for the brief hearing wearing a navy-blue suit. He whispered to one of his attorneys while his lead lawyers, Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, conferred with the judge and prosecutors at the front of the courtroom.

His state trial is expected to begin in September.