Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione returned to a Manhattan courtroom Friday for the seventh day of a hearing focused on whether key evidence should be excluded from his state murder case. His lawyers are challenging the admissibility of materials in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk last year.
During Thursday’s testimony, two supervisory officers who were at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested five days after the shooting, said police did not need a warrant to search his backpack. “It’s a warrant exception in Pennsylvania,” Lt. William Hanelly said, explaining that officers are allowed to search a person and their belongings. The defense has argued the officers may have overstepped their authority and cut procedural corners in the high-profile case. Hanelly also recounted offering a responding officer a free sandwich from a local restaurant if he captured the suspect, texting, “If you get the New York City shooter, I’ll buy you Luigetta’s for lunch,” along with a wink emoji, noting he thought it was unlikely the suspect would actually be at the fast-food location. The hearing is expected to continue into next week, with a written ruling from Judge Gregory Carro anticipated in January.