A New York judge ruled Monday that a 3D-printed gun and a notebook found in Luigi Mangione's backpack can be used as evidence in his state murder trial, while suppressing several other items recovered during what he called an improper warrantless search.
Mangione is charged in both federal and state courts in connection with the December 2024 shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
The ruling by Judge Gregory Carro centered on how and where the backpack was searched after Mangione's arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. His defense attorneys argued the search was unlawful because law enforcement did not obtain a warrant before going through the bag.
Carro agreed in part, finding that the initial search at the scene was not justified because the backpack was not within Mangione's reach at the time of arrest. "The backpack was not within the immediate control of defendant, or grabbable area," Carro wrote. As a result, items found during that initial search, including a gun magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet, and computer chip, were suppressed.
During suppression hearings last December, Altoona police officers testified they searched the bag to check for explosives. Carro found that explanation inconsistent with their actions, noting they stopped searching once they found a loaded magazine and did not look through smaller compartments of the bag.
The bag was later searched more thoroughly at the police station. Carro ruled that search was valid. "The people have established that the subsequent search of the backpack at the station was a valid inventory search," he wrote. That is where the gun and notebook were recovered, making them admissible.
Legal expert Richard Schoenstein, who is not affiliated with the case, said the ruling was a win for prosecutors. "The gun and the writing that suggest a motive are pretty much the best evidence in the case," he said. "Those were key items in the backpack and probably more important than the things that were excluded, although the loss of cell phone probably a little bit, a little bit of a hit."
The judge in Mangione's federal case had already ruled in January that the backpack evidence could be admitted in that proceeding. The state trial will proceed separately.
