Defense lawyer Tom Dickey, who had only met Luigi Mangione for the first time Tuesday, said afterward that the two have “made a strong bond.” Speaking to reporters at his law offices in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dickey opted not to describe any specific interactions he has had with the suspected shooter of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last week. When asked what his impression was of Mangione after speaking with him, Dickey declined to answer. “I wasn’t looking for impressions. What I was trying to do was form a bond with my client. I want him to trust me, and I want him to be confident that I’m here for him. And I feel that I’m very pleased how that went,” he said. Dickey took issue with the judge in the case not offering bail. “I think he was entitled to bail, and if the judge makes it $100 million or $10 billion or $100,000, he’s entitled to bail,” Dickey said. “But to simply say no bail, with all due respect to the judge, I think bail should have been set.” Mangione, who faces charges in New York and Pennsylvania, has opposed being extradited to New York.
