A federal judge ordered prosecutors Monday to put a police witness on the stand for a short hearing on whether officers lawfully searched a backpack carried by Luigi Mangione, reversing an earlier decision that no evidentiary hearing was needed..
Mangione is accused of murdering the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2024, when he was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said the government must present testimony from an Altoona Police Department officer about whether "established or standardized procedures" were followed when Mangione was taken into custody on Dec. 9, 2024, at the end of a five-day manhunt.
Garnett directed prosecutors and defense lawyers to confer on potential hearing dates within the next two weeks and said the proceeding is expected to be limited in scope.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court to charges stemming from the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown 13 months ago.
Authorities have said Thompson was headed to a company investor gathering when he was shot on the sidewalk.
The backpack search has become a central pretrial fight because investigators say it yielded key evidence, including a gun prosecutors say was used in the attack, multiple identification documents, and writings that authorities have described as reflecting anger toward the private healthcare system.
Defense attorneys have argued the search was unlawful and have asked the court to suppress what was found, contending police searched the bag before a warrant was obtained.
Prosecutors have countered that the search complied with routine procedures for securing an arrestee's property and that investigators later obtained warrants.
In Monday's order, Garnett also directed federal prosecutors to provide the court with the affidavit and related materials used to obtain a federal search warrant tied to the case, a step requested by the defense as it challenges whether any earlier search may have influenced what investigators told the judge who approved the warrant.
The suppression dispute is unfolding as Garnett weighs a separate defense request to dismiss two of the four federal counts against Mangione, including a charge that prosecutors say could make the case eligible for the death penalty.
The federal indictment includes a count accusing him of using a firearm to commit murder, along with two stalking counts that prosecutors say resulted in Thompson's death and a firearms count alleging he discharged a silencer-equipped weapon during a crime of violence.
Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors in 2025 to seek the death penalty in the case.
Mangione's lawyers have asked the court to block capital punishment, arguing the charges and the government's public statements prejudiced his right to a fair process. Prosecutors have disputed that, saying the charges were warranted by the evidence and the law.
Garnett has said jury selection in the federal case was tentatively set to begin Sept. 8, with opening statements possible later in 2026 depending on how death penalty litigation and other pretrial rulings unfold.
Mangione also has pleaded not guilty in a parallel New York state case in Manhattan, where he faces a separate set of charges, including second-degree murder and weapons counts.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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