By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-17 16:37:15 | Updated at 2025-03-18 01:47:09
9 hours ago
Luigi Mangione has claimed police gave him a snack to obtain his DNA when he was arrested at a remote Pennsylvania McDonald's, according to bombshell new court filings.
Attorneys for the accused UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter alleged police violated his rights in court documents asking to exclude evidence from his arrest.
Mangione, 26, was arrested at an Altoona McDonald's on December 9 following a five-day search for the masked man who gunned down Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel.
He was allegedly found with a 9-millimeter pistol and silencer, clothing that matched the apparel worn by the shooter in surveillance footage, and a notebook describing an intent to 'wack' an insurance company CEO, according to court filings.
Mangione was shipped back to the Big Apple for the murder trial but still faces lesser charges in the Keystone State.
However, his Pennsylvania attorney, Thomas Dickey, claimed the police had no 'proper legal justification' when they approached and argued that any evidence they obtained should be dropped, according to ABC News.
In a 36-page filing, Dickey said Altoona officers tricked Mangione into giving his DNA by offering him a snack and the samples are 'poisonous fruits' of an illegal search.
Dickey also claimed cops illegally took a personal notebook out of Mangione's bag and dubbed it a manifesto to taint public opinion about his client.
Luigi Mangione's attorneys alleged police violated his rights in court documents asking to exclude evidence from his arrest
Mangione claimed police gave him a snack to obtain his DNA when he was arrested. Mangione seen here eating a hash brown after being discovered by police at a McDonald's
Mangione, 26, was arrested at an Altoona McDonald's (pictured) on December 9 following a five-day search
'The Altoona Police Department illegally seized a notebook which allegedly contained numerous personal writings covering a plethora of personal experiences of [Mangione],' the filings said.
'This characterization of [Mangione's] alleged personal experiences and writings is incorrect, improper, and without justification and has no probative value... [that] was done so solely for the purpose to prejudice [Mangione] and put him in a negative light before the public; all in an effort to prejudice any potential jury pool.'
Dickey said the officers 'lacked reasonable suspicion to engage in such activity' and approached Mangione 'based on a hunch.'
'[Altoona police] had no independent corroborating evidence that [Mangione] was in fact the suspect sought in New York, prior to, or at the time of their stop and/or the investigatory detention of,' said the court documents.
'Any reasonable person, innocent of any crime, would have thought that he was being restrained if he had been in the Defendant's shoes.'
Dickey said the officers abused their power and violated Mangione's constitutional rights.
'[The cops] combined actions [at the McDonalds were] designed to not only exhibit their authority and control over [Mangione], but to also to restrict and totally curtail his liberty,' the filings said.
Mangione's New York lawyer, Karen Agnifilo, made a similar request in February, telling a judge that police illegally searched her client during his arrest and she would seek to exclude that evidence from his trial on state murder and terrorism charges.
He was allegedly found with a 9-millimeter pistol and silencer, clothing that matched the apparel worn by the shooter in surveillance footage
Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (pictured) outside a New York City hotel
Mangione was shipped back to the Big Apple for the murder trial, but still faces lesser chargers in the Keystone State
Mangione pleaded not guilty on December 23 to an 11-count indictment charging him with murder as an act of terrorism and weapons offenses.
If convicted, Mangione could face life in prison without parole. He is now jailed in a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
He has been fiercely backed by a slew of fans who have praised Mangione for his alleged actions that day and started a GiveSendGo pages to raise money for his legal defense.
Allegations of Mangione's involvement in sex tapes have seemingly fueled a surge in donations to his defense fund from devoted fans, and the fundraiser has reached over $720,000.
Mangione allegedly recorded over 20 highly stylized sex tapes before his arrest for the fatal shooting.
The accused killer has denied he is the young man seen on a bathroom sex tape reportedly being offered for half a million dollars on the dark web.
