fLuigi Mangion’s arrest in the bold murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson has announced his capture as “good old police work” that put an end to the manhunt that surprised America and the world.
It was a period when the drama and blanket media coverage was high. In a time that passed since Thompson was fatally shot dead on a Manhattan sidewalk on December 4 by an unknown assailant, police reportedly tracked surveillance footage, revealing the still-normal correct Mangione’s face, and widely distributing what he still knows now, which appears to be trying to find a fire.
The hunt ended on December 9th, when workers at McDonald, a worker in Altoona, Pennsylvania, allegedly admitted Mangiona through law enforcement warnings and called on local police to tip. Two patrol officers went to McDonald’s and approached him.
After Mangione pulled down the mask on his face, they claimed they would recognize him from the photos. They asked for their ID, but it turned out to be false, and more police were sent to the scene, ultimately leading to his arrest.
Mangion backpacks were searched at the police station. It is said to be other things, such as the obvious ghost gun, silencer and bullet. This series of events culminated in the extradition of Mangion to New York City, and now faces state and federal charges.
However, Mangion’s Pennsylvania lawyer Thomas Dickey argues that his client’s encounter with police is plagued by unconstitutional violations, and the evidence gathered should encourage the dismissal of Pennsylvania’s charges in court documents filed on March 12th.
Several veteran defense attorneys have told the Guardian that while there are strict requirements for arrests and gathering evidence, judges frequently deny Mangion-like moves. And if this request proved successful in Pennsylvania, such a decision would not put his other cases at risk.
“The successful claim doesn’t mean Luigi Mangion is leaving prison,” said Ron Cuby, a criminal defense lawyer focusing on civil rights. “What this means is that any item seized from him or that belongs to him cannot be used as evidence against him.”
“It would certainly hurt the prosecutor’s case, but he was on video and shot a man in the back,” Kuby said. “There is substantial evidence remaining, including his trips and other things.”
That said, the merits of the allegations are “surprisingly good” and there is a warning that it “relies heavily on what happens at the hearing.”
Kuby believes Mangione’s team is making enough claims to be worthy of a hearing on the issue. “It appears they stopped and destroyed Mangion without legal basis for doing that. If that’s true, it’s likely that everything that follows from there turned out to be unconstitutional,” he said.
Neema Ramani, president of West Coast Trials Attorney and former federal prosecutor, expressed similar sentiments. The argument to rule out evidence is frequently rejected, and it is said that other evidence suggests him to the murder, even if the judge ruled in Mangion’s favor.
“It just suppresses evidence that was discovered illegally,” Ramani said. “We’re talking about the ghost gun that was on his person, the manifesto he had. But if there’s other kinds of evidence, it’s still in there.
“The case will not be dismissed. The remedy is the suppression of illegal evidence.”
Other evidence includes video of Mangion at the crime scene and fingerprints allegedly found in a nearby water bottle, officials said. In Ramani’s view, police appeared to have sufficient reasonable doubt that the McDonald’s man was a suspected shooting that would legally stop him.
“The standard is that you can stop someone based on a reasonable doubt. This is a lower standard and you can arrest someone based on a possible cause that could be a higher standard. Obviously, if you arrest someone, you can search for them.”
Mangion’s lawyer, Dicky, claimed that police had no reasonable doubts and that he was dispatched for “a suspicious man resembling the suspect who shot the CEO in New York.” At one point, Dicky charged, and the officer told him “suspectful.”
These two patrol officers did not formally arrest Mangion right away, but the “rational person” in his position stood so that he could leave himself at will freely constitute an arrest, Dickie argued in court documents filed on March 12.
The lawyers argue that they acted that way with only tips, without “independent supporting evidence.”
Dickie also claims he spoke to the anonymous tip or did not even attempt to review this information. This means the suspension was made without the legally necessary “reasonable doubt” that he committed the crime, his lawyer said.
Mangion felt he had to present his identification given the circumstances and continued to believe that as more police came to McDonald’s he was in custody and unable to leave. At this point, the police had not yet known him about his rights. In the United States, arrested people must be told, for example, they have the right to remain silent and to a lawyer.
Mangion was not offered his rights about 20 minutes after he first approached the police. After being offered his rights, Mangion showed he didn’t want to talk to police, Dickie said.
The officer then told Mangion, “You are clearly not in custody.” He claimed that the unconstitutional violation continued after officers determined he had arrested him and took him to the police station. They also gave Mangion a snack and soda to get a sample of his DNA, Dickie wrote.
Generally speaking, Sam Roberts, a staff lawyer for the Legal Aid Association’s Murder Defense Task Force, said police can collect DNA from items such as drink cups at the station. However, using this as evidence in court can prove difficult due to the problems surrounding potential pollution.
Roberts said that while people might think that some cases just collapse completely from the issue of the evidence, this is rarely true.
“In a famous violent felony case, there is this common perception that ‘the murderer walked freely’,” Roberts said. “It’s kind of perception in popular thinking. So, judges, in my opinion, bend backwards to find a way to maintain evidence.”
Mangion pleaded not guilty in the lawsuit against him. Altoona police said they had not commented on Dickey’s claims.
