A federal judge in New York has dismissed the death-eligible counts from Luigi Mangione’s indictment on Friday.
The same federal judge declined to suppress evidence seized from Mangione’s backpack.
Mangione, who is accused of stalking and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges.
The defense argued that stalking “fails to qualify as a crime of violence” and therefore cannot be the predicate to make Mangione eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted of the federal charges. The defense also argued that the decision to seek the death penalty was political and circumvented the federal government’s protocols.
“Tortured and strange” though she said her conclusion may be, Garnett ruled stalking is not a crime of violence and, therefore, not a predicate to make Thompson’s murder a capital crime.
“No one could seriously question that this is violent criminal conduct,” Garnett wrote. However, her opinion said that the U.S. Supreme Court requires her to analyze the allegations in a way that is “totally divorced from the conduct at issue.”
Judge Margaret Garnett had said Mangione would stand trial for the federal case in October if the death penalty was taken off the table. Either way, she set jury selection for Sept. 8.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office submitted a letter this week urging Mangione’s state trial to begin on July 1, before the federal case.
Garnett’s ruling went against the defense’s request to exclude evidence seized from Mangione’s backpack when he was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Federal prosecutors contend the Altoona Police Department’s search followed departmental procedures. Mangione’s lawyers argued the backpack search was illegal and police should not have had immediate access to the items inside, including the alleged murder weapon, a notebook and writings.
“The circumstances clearly suggested at least the possibility of a political or ideological motive to send a public message, through the use of violence, about the health insurance industry, and little was otherwise known about the perpetrator, including whether he had acted alone or as part of a group, and whether the Thompson murder was an isolated incident or was part of a larger plot contemplating further violence,” she wrote.
Garnett said the search fell within multiple exceptions to the requirements for obtaining a search warrant, including the discovery of the weapon and the likelihood that the evidence would have been discovered inevitably.
In making their case for a July 1 state trial, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said the state has a “deep interest” in upholding the right to life, maintaining public order and delivering justice for Thompson’s family.
Meantime, Friday’s court appearance comes just one day after an alleged attempted jail break by a Minnesota man.
Law enforcement sources say Mark Anderson, 36, was charged Thursday with impersonating a federal agent.
Authorities said he showed up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York claiming to be an FBI agent with a court order to release Mangione, sources said.
Anderson allegedly approached the intake area inside the MDC and claimed he had paperwork “signed by a judge” authorizing the release of a specific inmate, according to the criminal complaint. The complaint does not name Mangione, but law enforcement sources told ABC News that is who Anderson was seeking.
When Bureau of Prisons personnel asked to see Anderson’s credentials, federal prosecutors said he showed them a Minnesota driver’s license and “threw at the BOP officers numerous documents.”
Anderson said he had weapons in his bag, and inside the bag was a barbecue fork and a pizza cutter, according to the criminal complaint.
During a court appearance Thursday, Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkl ordered Anderson detained, deciding he is a risk of flight and danger to the community. Anderson has multiple open criminal cases in the Bronx.