An officer who escorted Luigi Mangione to an arraignment hearing after his December 2024 arrest revealed in court Tuesday what the accused murderer said while walking past spectators and reporters on his way out of the Pennsylvania courthouse.
"All of these people are here for a mass murderer? Wild," Mangione allegedly said, according to Altoona Police Officer Stephen Fox.
Tuesday marked a year since Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, bringing an end to a five-day manhunt for the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. Mangione, 27, was arraigned on the same day at the Blair County Courthouse.
He faces New York state charges, including one count of second-degree murder, seven counts of various weapons charges, and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. Mangione was also charged with two federal counts of stalking, one count of murder through the use of a firearm, and one count of a firearms offense.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to nine state counts and four federal charges filed separately. The federal charges come with the possibility of the death penalty.
Fox's insight into Mangione on the day of his arraignment revealed new details in a multiday hearing related to the New York state charges. The hearing, in Manhattan Criminal Court, is focused on Mangione’s lawyers’ bid to exclude evidence from his state murder trial. The hearing started last week.
On Tuesday, Mangione entered the courtroom in a navy blue suit and a light pink-and-white checked dress shirt.
Before the hearing began, Mangione chatted with one of his attorneys, then opened a folder and pulled a paper from it, which he read intently.
Fox, who responded to the McDonald’s a year ago following a call about a suspicious person, took the stand Tuesday as the ninth witness for the prosecution.
He testified that he was with Mangione at the Pennsylvania courthouse when he was arraigned. As he was escorting him out, Fox said Mangione remarked on the people who had shown up. Fox said he apologized to a shackled Mangione for walking too fast when he stumbled as the officers were handing him over to state police.
"It’s OK, I’m going to have to get used to it," Mangione said, according to Fox.
Fox said that before he encountered Mangione at the McDonald's, he had heard about the Dec. 4, 2024, shooting on Fox News. He called the incident a "violent act of cowardice that targeted an unarmed human being."
Bodycam video of Mangione being detained in Pennsylvania was also played in court on Tuesday. Mangione took notes on a yellow legal pad and sifted through papers at the defense table as it played.
On the stand, Fox said that he helped search the backpack Mangione had with him after he was arrested. He told the court that he said, "It’s f---ing him, 100%" as his colleague found a magazine with bullets inside the backpack.
Mangione's attorney, Karen Agnifilo, highlighted in court Tuesday that Mangione expressed concern about the McDonald's employee who reported him to police, adding that "it would be bad for her" if her name were released to the public, Fox said. Mangione also apologized for creating an inconvenience at the eatery, Agnifilo said.
“I guess as genuine as someone who just assassinated” someone, Fox replied when he was asked about Mangione's sincerity.
According to bodycam video played in court, Fox and other officers spoke about the need for a search warrant to search Mangione's backpack. Fox said they did not need one because of "search incident to arrest" — an exception that allows officers to search a suspect without a warrant — while another officer agreed. Moments later, a third officer can be heard saying they needed one because of the “severity” of the case.
Fox doubled down on his stance in court, arguing that Mangione had committed a crime at the McDonald's by providing officers with a forged identification card, so a search warrant was not needed. Bodycam video played in court Tuesday showed Mangione telling an officer that his name is "Mark Rosario" and handing over the forged card.
Blair County First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith testified Monday that she approved two search warrants that day. The warrants authorized the continued seizure of Mangione’s property and permitted the transfer of the evidence — including the suppressor, handgun, ammunition and fake identification — to the NYPD.
Monday's proceedings also featured pictures of the items recovered from Mangione’s backpack last year included a loaded handgun, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear, a notebook, a cellphone, a passport, a Maryland identification card, and various bank and credit cards.
A to-do list was also found with notes scribbled on it, like “buy black sneakers (white stripe too distinctive),” “Change hat, shoes, pluck eyebrows,” “keep momentum, FBI slower,” and “check reports for current situation."
