Judge tosses evidence in Luigi Mangione case
By: N'dea Yabcey-Bragg
and Christopher Cann
USA today
..... A New York judge has partially granted a request to toss crucial evidence obtained after law enforcement located Luigi Mangione in the wake of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
.....
Mangione, 28, was found at a McDonald in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a five-day manhunt. Authorities say he fatally shot Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in New York city on December 4, 2024. He was arrested and charged with nine felony counts, including second-degree murder, in New York state court. Mangione faces separate charges in Pennsylvania and in federal court.
..... During a nine-day hearing in December, [2025] Mangione's attorneys battled prosecutors in New York state court over whether evidence police found in Mangione's backpack at the time - including a notebook, a silencer and a 3D-printed handgun - and statements he later made to law enforcement should be presented at trial.
..... Mangione's attorneys argued that police searched the backpack multiple times before obtaining a warrant and, therefor, it should be excluded. Therefore also asked the court to toss out statements Mangione made to police, arguing that he was interrogated before being read his Manda rights and after he invoked them.
..... Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that the searches were legal and complied with local police procedure. They also said a subsequently-obtained search warrant provides an independent basis to admit the evidence.
..... Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled that some statements Mangione made while in custody at McDonald;s and evidence found during the initial search of his backpack must be suppressed, including a cellphone, passport and wallet.
..... But Carro ruled that a subsequent seas of the backpack at the police station, which uncovered a gun and a red notebook, was vialed. Carro determined some statements Mangione made to police and correctional officers that we challenged by the defense will also be admissible.
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The decision marks a partial victory for Mangione's defense, but it won't completely derail the prosecution's case, according to Cheryl Bader, a professor of law at Fordham University. Other purported evidence against Mangione includes items found near the crime scene hat authorities say contained his DNA, including a cell phone and a water bottle.
..... Manginne's attorneys also argued in the federal court hat prosecutors should be barred from using evidence found in the backpack because police illegally searched it without a warrant. But. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett denied Mangione's motion on January 30, [2026] finding the "entire contents of the backpack fall squarely within several exceptions to the warrant requirement."
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The denial came after a brief hearing in which government called just one witness and the defense called none.
..... Mangione's state trial in New York is scheduled to begin in September [2026] and his federal trial is set to state in January, [2027]
..... Contributing: Reuters