The suspect in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson entered the Blair County courtroom at 1:55 p.m. ET today, shackled at the hands and feet, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with DOC emblazoned on the back. His collar was disheveled. He was surrounded by about a half dozen uniformed officers.
Once he sat down, Luigi Mangione unwrapped a piece of paper that he had with him. He sat for about 15 minutes until his attorney came in and quietly conferred with him.
The judge entered at 2:20 p.m.
Mangione, 26, only spoke twice, saying “I do” when sworn in and “Yes, sir” to the judge when asked if he understood his right to contest arrest.
His attorney, Thomas Dickey, objected almost immediately to say the warrant of arrest, which he said he just received, didn’t mention the words “criminal homicide.” District Attorney Peter Weeks said “it does” and Judge Dave Consiglio overruled the objection.
Dickey then said he was challenging extradition.
Weeks ticked through what was found on Mangione when he was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday. He said it included a forged license, a gun, a silencer and ammunition, bags, multiple masks, $8,000, $2,000 in foreign currency and a passport. He also said Mangione was a transient and evaded detection for law enforcement before asking the judge to deny bail.
Dickey said because the charge doesn’t carry a life sentence without parole, the judge should impose a bail. In addition, he cited the presumption of innocence and said his client had no prior criminal history. He said electric monitoring such as a bracelet could be used to track Mangione’s whereabouts if granted bail.
Consiglio then ruled Mangione had 14 days to file for habeas corpus – and, if obtained, a new hearing would be scheduled. The judge gave the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 30 days to obtain a governor’s warrant and denied bail, saying Mangione would remain at SCI Huntingdon.
The court quickly adjourned and Mangione was escorted out of the room.
