Pennsylvania police lieutenant testifies about Luigi Mangione’s arrest

Dec. 11 (UPI) — The evidence suppression hearing continues on day six of testimony in the case against Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, as more police testify about his arrest.

Mangione, 27, allegedly shot and killed Thompson in December 2024 in Manhattan as Thompson, 50, was heading to an investors’ meeting. He was arrested five days later in an Altoona, Pa., McDonald’s. He also faces federal charges, for which he could get the death penalty.

Mangione’s lawyers are trying to get evidence seized by police in Pennsylvania suppressed so that it can’t be used in trial. They allege that the evidence was seized without a warrant and things that Mangione said are inadmissible because he was read his Miranda rights too late.

The highest-ranking officer who was at the McDonald’s, Lt. William Hanelly, testified that he called New York’s 911 to report that he was heading to the restaurant “so we could get the ball rolling.”

A recording of the call was played in court Thursday. “We’re acting off a tip from a local business here,” Hanelly said on the call. “We might have the shooter.”

Then Hanelly clarified: “The shooter from the UHC,” he said. Hanelly told them that the person at the McDonald’s “matches the photos that your department put out.”

He stayed on the phone as he arrived, and can be heard on the call asking someone, “Did you pat him down?”

“At that point we had reasonable suspicion to believe he had been involved in a crime of violence in another jurisdiction,” Hanelly testified. “He could be armed and dangerous.”

Hanelly testified that he called the district attorney to discuss charges, and he told the officers to take Mangione into custody. He said that police can search people and their items after they’re arrested. He said that in hundreds of arrests, he’s not seen a warrant.

When the search of Mangione’s backpack revealed a loaded magazine for a pistol, Hanelly said he told the officer to re-pack the bag. He said he was worried about evidence contamination and that everything was happening in the public eye.

“It was gonna turn into a thing. It was going to be a mess. I just wanted to get it to the station,” Hanelly said.

Testimony is expected to last the rest of the week and possibly into next week. The judge will announce his decision about evidence in January.