The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO will return to New York to face murder charges after agreeing to be extradited Thursday during a court appearance in Pennsylvania where he was arrested last week after five days on the run.
Luigi Mangione waived a preliminary hearing on the Pennsylvania charges in exchange for the prosecutor giving him a 20-page investigative report from the Altoona Police Department.
Mangione also waived extradition to New York.
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DA Peter Weeks explains what comes next
“Because of the defendant’s reversal today and decision to waive his preliminary hearing as well as his extradition, certainly we believe it’s in the interests of justice to turn him over to the New York City police department and Manhattan district attorney’s office, which we did,” the Blair County district attorney told reporters after the hearing in Pennsylvania. “He is now in their custody. He will go forth with New York to await trial or prosecution for his homicide and related charges in New York. We intend to keep our case active and we intend to essentially revisit the case when the defendant is available for prosecution in Blair County.”
Asked at the news conference if he was aware of any planned federal charges against Mangione, Weeks said: “I have not spoken to any federal officials about Mr. Mangione absent casual conversation with a few FBI agents the Monday he was apprehended, and they certainly didn’t discuss any of that with me.”
The district attorney in Blair County, Pennsylvania, Pete Weeks, speaks after the hearing
“Violence to make your point is never acceptable in our country, in our system of justice,” Weeks said.
Mangione was taken out of the courthouse by a group of NYPD officers and put into a waiting SUV
He appeared to glance at a TV camera but did not say anything.
The black SUV then drove off.
Luigi Mangione agrees to extradition, will return to New York
In court in Pennsylvania, Mangione and his lawyer, Tom Dickey, pored over documents, with Mangione occasionally nodding. He was immediately ushered out of the courtroom at the conclusion of the hearings.
Who is Mangione’s attorney?
Luigi Mangione has added a prominent defense lawyer to his legal team as Manhattan prosecutors work to return him from Pennsylvania to face a murder charge.
Mangione will be represented by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for years before entering private practice.
Friedman Agnifilo’s law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement late Friday that she had been retained to represent Mangione. The firm said she will not be commenting on the case at this time.
▶ Read more about Mangione’s legal defense team
TV trucks line the street in front of the courthouse
And reporters are waiting in line to get inside the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.
A few supporters of Mangione are also in line, holding signs that say “Luigi the people hear you,” “Murder for profit is terrorism” and “Free Luigi.” One man said he came from Ohio to attend the hearings
How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi Mangione
New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a state law that allows for stiffer sentences when a killing is aimed at terrifying civilians or influencing government.
If it sounds like an unusual application of a terrorism law, it’s not the first time the statute has been applied to a case that wasn’t about cross-border extremism or a plot to kill masses of people.
Mangione is jailed on other charges in Pennsylvania, where he is scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing Thursday that could clear the way for him to be brought to New York.
▶ Read more about the anti-terrorism law and the case surrounding the death of Brian Thompson.
What’s expected in court Thursday
The preliminary hearing on forgery and firearms charges and consideration of a fugitive from justice complaint against Luigi Mangione may not take long.
He is expected to waive extradition, clearing the way for his return to New York, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
Court officials said Mangione will attend the early morning proceedings at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg. If a judge authorizes his extradition, Mangione would then be brought to New York, where he could appear in state court for arraignment Thursday afternoon or Friday.
▶ Read more about what to expect in Thursday’s Pennsylvania court hearing
The Associated Press
