New York: Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally gunning down health insurance executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street in December, arrived in court in New York on Friday afternoon (New York time) with dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse to support the 26-year-old.
A lawyer for Mangione told a judge on Friday that her client was illegally searched during his arrest and she would seek to exclude that evidence from his trial on state murder and terrorism charges.
Luigi Mangione, accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York, confers with his attorney during a court hearing.Credit: AP
Lawyer Karen Agnifilo said during a hearing in Manhattan State Court that there were “serious search and seizure issues” with Mangione’s December arrest in Pennsylvania, though she did not elaborate.
“There might be evidence that is suppressed in this case,” Agnifilo said.
Police officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, found Mangione with a 9-millimetre pistol and silencer, clothing that matched the apparel worn by Thompson’s shooter in surveillance footage, and a notebook describing an intent to “wack” an insurance company chief executive, according to a court filing.
Luigi Mangione’s supporters hold signs outside the Supreme Court in New York.Credit: AP
Thompson, the former chief executive of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance unit UnitedHealthcare, was shot dead on December 4 outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, where the company was gathering for an investor conference.
Mangione appeared in court wearing a green cable knit sweater over a white shirt. He was brought into the courtroom in leg and arm shackles and wearing a bulletproof vest.
Mangione pleaded not guilty on December 23 to an 11-count indictment charging him with murder as an act of terrorism and weapons offences. If convicted, he could face life in prison without parole. He is now jailed in a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
