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Luigi Mangione is led into the Blair County Courthouse for an extradition hearing December 10, 2024 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Image Credit: AFP
The suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson is fighting being sent to New York to face a second-degree murder charge, setting up a potentially long legal process to prosecute Luigi Mangione.
In a court hearing Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Mangione's lawyer said that his 26-year-old client will contest any request to move him to New York. Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a five-day manhunt following the Dec. 4 attack on Thompson in Manhattan.
"My client is not waiving extradition here today," defense attorney Thomas M. Dickey said. "He is contesting it."
Mangione is charged in the shooting of Thompson, 50, outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan as he walked to where UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual investor conference. At the hearing on Tuesday, the judge denied him bail.
New York authorities accused Mangione of murder and weapons offenses in an unsealed arrest warrant.
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In New York, a conviction for second-degree murder carries a sentence ranging from 15 to 25 years to life in prison. The charge is a Class A felony, the most serious type of crime under New York state law, and is defined as an intentional killing that shows "depraved indifference to human life."
Mangione is being held in Pennsylvania on charges of carrying an unlicensed gun and presenting fake identification. At the hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors said that Mangione was arrested while carrying a gun, a silencer and ammunition, as well as $8,000 in US dollars, $2,000 in foreign currency and a passport. He also carried Faraday bags, which block signals from laptops and cell phones, as well as additional face masks.
Packed courtroom
Mangione was driven to the courthouse in Pennsylvania by sheriff's officers and as he was led into a rear entrance, he shouted at reporters.
"It's clearly unjust and an insult to the intelligence of the American people," he yelled.
He entered a packed courtroom wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, a brown undershirt and silver handcuffs.
While his lawyer met with Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks, Mangione swiveled in his chair and surveyed the crowd of about 60 people while waiting for the judge.
When Dickey said he would fight extradition, the judge asked if that was his intention.
"Yes, sir," Mangione said.
At one point, Dickey asked for a clarification about the comments Weeks made on the masks. When Mangione interrupted him, his lawyer said: "Don't say another word."
Judge David Consiglio gave the suspect 14 days to file papers contesting his extradition. Consiglio said New York Governor Kathy Hochul has 30 days to request a warrant for Mangione's extradition. Outside the hearing, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said the governor will make such a request.
"I am coordinating with the District Attorney's Office and will sign a request for a governor's warrant to ensure this individual is tried and held accountable," Hochul said in a statement.
Mangione is being held pending a Dec. 23 court hearing on the Pennsylvania criminal charges, unless he is extradited first.
Extradition
Fighting extradition from one US state to another is an uphill battle, legal experts say. Unlike extradition between nations, a US state must surrender anyone facing a lawful arrest warrant from another state.
An earlier version of the search headline of this story corrected the CEO's title.
"The issue is only whether he's going to deny he's Luigi Mangione," said Jeffrey Lichtman, a veteran New York criminal defense lawyer. "He has no basis to fight extradition, and that wouldn't last long if the governors of New York and Pennsylvania agree to return him to New York. It's a losing battle."
When Mangione appeared for a preliminary arraignment in the same courthouse on Monday, he didn't enter a plea, Stacey Witalec, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania courts system, said. A person who answered the phone in Dickey's office said the attorney was not immediately available to comment further on the case.
Grand jury
Once in New York, Mangione would be taken into custody by the New York Police Department and would be arraigned before a state judge, and enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
The Manhattan district attorney's office would then present evidence in secret to a group of about 16 to 23 people, known as a grand jury. The panel will hear testimony from witnesses, see evidence offered by prosecutors and vote in secret on whether to charge Mangione in an indictment.
The judge will also decide whether to grant bail, although it's unlikely Mangione, who was arrested after a five-day manhunt by authorities, would be released.
The judge's decision on bail depends on facts like the seriousness of the crime, a suspect's prior criminal record, his ties to the community and whether he's considered a danger to the community or a flight risk.
If he is denied bail, Mangione would probably be held in the notorious Rikers Island jail in New York.
Thompson, the UnitedHealth executive, died of a gunshot wound to his torso, according to the warrant released Tuesday by New York officials. In the document, authorities alleged Mangione was the person seen on surveillance video "shooting and killing" Thompson. They identified him as the individual seen in photos across New York around the time of the shooting.
Mangione had "written admissions about the crime" in his possession at the time of his arrest Monday, according to the arrest warrant.