Luigi Mangione’s defense team experienced a small win in court on Monday when a New York state judge prevented crucial evidence from being admitted at the trial.
The prosecution has argued that evidence found in the backpack of Mangione on the day of his arrest links him to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. But because of the way in which the material was seized by law enforcement, Judge Gregory Carro said only a journal and a gun allegedly found in Mangione’s backpack can be used as evidence.
Mangione was apprehended at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania five days after Thompson was killed in New York City.
While at the fast-food restaurant, officers patted down Mangione and partially looked into his backpack to ensure there wasn’t a bomb threat, per the court filing. The backpack was further examined at the police station, where more evidence was found.
The officer “continued to search the backpack, placing items in separate bags, including items that had been found at the McDonald’s, such as the microchip, cellphone and Faraday bag, the knife, and the loaded magazine, as well as items that had just been found at the station, including a silencer and the USB drive,” the judge’s ruling said, noting that a red notebook was also discovered and bagged as evidence.
NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos stated that the complexity of the Fourth Amendment rights concerning unlawful search and seizure in this case led the judge to issue his ruling.
“There are so many exceptions to the warrant requirement. And in this case, when they approached Mangione, once he was secure and the bag was nine feet away, then they needed a warrant because it was no longer in what is called his grabbable area, his wingspan,” Cevallos explained. “If it’s something he could theoretically still reach, like a firearm, then they can search it incident to arrest for obvious reasons (like) officer safety. But in this case, because he was secured, the bags nine feet away, they’re no longer in officer safety land, so anything that was searched and discovered at the McDonald’s essentially is being suppressed.”
Prosecutors argued that the officer’s actions were procedural and that the backpack was only searched after Mangione gave police a false identity.
Still, Carro labeled the search at the McDonald’s as an “improper warrantless search” and said only the gun and notebook that were discovered in the backpack at the police station can be entered as evidence.
Mangione is being tried in both a federal and state court for the death of Thompson. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases. Earlier this year, the judge in his federal case ruled that all the evidence could be used in the trial.
His next court appearance in the state case is scheduled for Sept. 8, and the federal trial will begin jury selection in October.
Outside the New York City courthouse on Monday, women could be seen waiting in line to enter, voicing their support for Mangione.