Seizure of Luigi Mangione's backpack to be subject of federal court hearing
The judge in Luigi Mangione's federal trial says she'll hold a hearing with a senior member of the Altoona, Penn. police department to go over the policies the department says enabled them to seize and look through Mangione's backpack at the time of his arrest.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's restaurant in Pennsylvania just days after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Dec. 2024.
Judge Margaret Garnett said she expects the hearing will be brief. She ordered it take place in the next two weeks.
The judge said the hearing will be, "about the established or standardized procedures in use by the Department in December 2024 for securing, safeguarding, and, if applicable, inventorying the personal property of a person arrested in a public place."
The judge said whoever testifies from the Altoona police department need not have been directly involved in the review of Mangione's backpack and its contents, but be of sufficient authority within the department to give an overview of their typical procedures.
Mangione's defense team has argued in both state and federal court that the contents of Mangione's backpack, including a pistol and notebook, should not be admitted at trial because police searched the backpack prior to receiving a search warrant. In a lengthy evidentiary hearing in his state trial, Altoona police officers involved in the search of his backpack testified it was their standard procedure to recover property like a backpack from a suspect at the time of his arrest, and a preliminary search of the backpack also would've been standard procedure.
That backpack was initially searched when Mangione was arrested at the McDonald's. Officers found a loaded magazine in the backpack during that preliminary search, and a more thorough search back at the station revealed a pistol and silencer. They also found a journal, which included a to-do list, potential getaway plans and more.
Mangione's defense team argued in a hearing last week that while officers had the right to safeguard the backpack, they did not have the right to go through it without a search warrant.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges related to Thompson's killing, which set off a nationwide manhunt. If convicted on some of the federal charges he faces, Mangione could get the death penalty.
Mangione's defense team is also trying to get two federal counts against him - including the one that brings the possibility of the death penalty - dismissed.