Cops pulled a number of dirty tricks on Luigi Mangione during their first encounter with him at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania and later at a local police station, the 26-year-old’s lawyer claimed in new court filings this week.
The purportedly illegal tactics included tricking him into accepting a snack to obtain his DNA and seizing his bag at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as a pretext to rummage through his belongings.
The actions violated protections afforded to Mangione under the Fourth and 14th Amendments, lawyer Thomas Dickey alleged in the documents.
Mangione is accused of carrying out the high-profile murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan last December.
He faces charges in Pennsylvania including possessing an unlicensed firearm, forgery, and providing false identification to police. Mangione is facing trial in New York first, however, on separate charges in both federal and state courts, including homicide and terrorism.
One of the federal charges, murder through use of a firearm, means Mangione could face the death penalty if convicted.
Dickey claimed cops formed “a human law enforcement wall” at the Altoona McDonald’s where Mangione was spotted, questioned, and eventually arrested—though they did not have a legal basis to seize his belongings: a backpack, plastic bag, and other items.
“Prior to this stop, arrest, seizure and/or detention of the Defendant, the APD Officers had no articulable facts and observed no criminal conduct on the part of the Defendant, nor any other evidence indicating that any criminal activity was afoot,” the document states. “Accordingly, APD lacked reasonable suspicion to engage in this activity. At no time did the Defendant exhibit any threatening gesture or show of force. These actions by APD, were in violation of the protections afforded to the Defendant under the Fourth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and under Article 1, Section 8, of the Pennsylvania Constitution.”
“Other than the anonymous 911 call, the APD had no independent corroborating evidence that the Defendant was in fact the suspect sought in New York, prior to, or at the time of their stop and/or the investigatory detention of the Defendant.”
In the 36-page document, Dickey writes, “Any purported identification of the Defendant as the person wanted in New York was speculative and based on a hunch,” and describes actions by APD officers and other law enforcement personnel, as “coercive.”
Dickey said the discovery of numerous items was illegal and should be removed from the case, including a computer chip, a clip containing bullets which was wrapped up in some undergarments, 9mm handgun with printed lower receiver, mechanized upper receiver, suspected 3D printed suppressor, and a red notebook. Multiple handwritten notes were also seized.
“The Altoona Police Department illegally seized a notebook which allegedly contained numerous personal writings covering a plethora of personal experiences of the Defendant,” the filing notes. “A member of the Altoona Police Department improperly, and without justification, labeled these writings and/or notebook as ‘Manifesto’. The use of this characterization of the Defendants alleged personal experiences and writings is incorrect, improper, and without justification and has no probative value.
The document says Mangione believes “that this characterization was done so solely for the purpose to prejudice the Defendant and put him in a negative light before the public; all in an effort to prejudice any potential jury pool.”
Later, at the police station, cops provided snacks to an unwitting Mangione.
“While illegally seized, arrested, and detained, the Defendant was provided food and soda while at the Altoona Police Department Station,” the document states.
“The purposes for the same, was to obtain DNA from the Defendant for further investigative purposes. Insofar as the Defendants detention was illegal for reasons set forth, infra, any and all DNA samples, profiles, etc. were poisonous fruits obtained in violation of the protections afforded the Defendant by the constitutions of both the United States and this Commonwealth.”
Prosecutors have accused Mangione of shooting Thompson in front of the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan on the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, in a “frightening, well-planned, targeted” killing. He has pleaded not guilty to state charges but is yet to enter a plea to federal charges.
