NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Moments after Luigi Mangione was handcuffed at a Pennsylvania McDonald鈥檚, a police officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear.
The discovery, recounted in court Monday as Mangione fights to keep evidence out of his New York murder case, convinced police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that he was the man wanted in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier.
鈥淚t’s him, dude. It’s him, 100%,鈥� an officer was heard saying on body-worn camera video from , punctuating the remark with expletives as the officer combing the bag, Christy Wasser, held up the magazine.
Wasser, a 19-year Altoona police veteran, testified on the fourth day of a pretrial hearing as Mangione sought to bar prosecutors from using the magazine and other evidence against him, including a and a notebook found during a subsequent bag search.
The testimony shed light on the critical minutes after Mangione was spotted at the McDonald鈥檚 and the sometimes unusual steps police officers took in collecting evidence critical to tying him to the crime.
Why the defense says the evidence shouldn’t be used at trial
Mangione鈥檚 lawyers argue the items should be excluded because police didn鈥檛 have a search warrant and lacked the grounds to justify a warrantless search. Prosecutors contend the search was legal and that police eventually obtained a warrant.
Wasser, testifying in full uniform, said Altoona police protocols require promptly searching a suspect鈥檚 property at the time of an arrest, in part for dangerous items.
On body-worn camera video played in court, Wasser was heard saying she wanted to check the bag for bombs before removing it from the McDonald鈥檚. Despite that concern, she acknowledged in her testimony Monday that police never cleared the restaurant of customers or employees.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. He appeared in good health on Monday, pumping his fist for photographers and chatting with his lawyers as testimony resumed.
The hearing, which was postponed Friday because of Mangione鈥檚 apparent illness, applies only to the state case. His lawyers are making a similar push to exclude the evidence from his federal case, where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Why prosecutors say jurors should be able to see the evidence
Prosecutors have said the handgun found in the backpack matches the firearm used in the killing and that showed Mangione鈥檚 and ideas about killing a CEO at an investor conference.
, 50, was killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for his company鈥檚 investor conference on Dec. 4, 2024. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police have said 鈥渄elay,鈥� 鈥渄eny鈥� and 鈥渄epose鈥� were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan, after police there received a 911 call about a McDonald鈥檚 customer resembling the suspect.
Wasser testified that she went to the McDonald鈥檚 on her own to . Before that, she said, she had seen some coverage of Thompson鈥檚 killing on Fox 海角社区app, including the surveillance video of the shooting and images of the suspected shooter.
Wasser began searching Mangione鈥檚 bag as officers took him into custody on initial charges of forgery and false identification, after he acknowledged giving them a bogus driving license, police said. The same fake name was used by the alleged gunman used at a Manhattan hostel days before the shooting.
By then, a handcuffed Mangione had been informed of his right to remain silent 鈥� and invoked it 鈥� when asked if there was anything in the bag that officers should be concerned about.
Wasser told another officer she wanted to check the bag for a bomb before leaving the McDonald鈥檚 because she didn鈥檛 want to repeat an incident in which another Altoona officer had inadvertently brought a bomb to the police station.
What did police find in Mangione’s bag?
鈥淒id you call the bomb squad?鈥� Mangione lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked.
鈥淣o. I didn鈥檛 find a bomb yet,鈥� Wasser responded.
According to body-worn camera video, the first few items Wasser found were innocuous: a hoagie, a loaf of bread and a smaller bag containing a passport, cellphone and computer chip.
Then she pulled out a gray pair of underwear, unwrapping them to reveal the magazine.
Satisfied there was no bomb, she suspended her search and placed some of the items back in the bag. Some evidence, including Mangione鈥檚 laptop computer, was transported to the police station in a brown paper McDonald鈥檚 takeout bag, body-worn camera video showed.
Wasser resumed her search after an 11-minute drive to the police station and almost immediately found the gun and silencer 鈥� the latter discovery prompting her to laugh and exclaim 鈥渘ice,鈥� according to body-worn camera footage. Wasser said the gun was in a side pocket that she hadn’t searched at McDonald鈥檚.
Later, while cataloging everything in the bag in what’s known as an inventory search, she found the notebook and other notes, including what appeared to to-do lists and possible getaway plans.
鈥淚sn’t it awesome?鈥� Wasser said at one point during the search, according to the body-worn camera video.
Asked to explain, she told Friedman Agnifilo on Monday that she was proud of her police department鈥檚 work in helping to capture Thompson鈥檚 suspected killer.
A Blair County, Pennsylvania, prosecutor testified that a judge later signed off on a search warrant for the bag, a few hours after the searches were completed. The warrant, she said, provided a legal mechanism for Altoona police to turn the evidence over to New York City detectives investigating Thompson鈥檚 killing.
As he has throughout the case, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann described Thompson鈥檚 killing as an 鈥渆xecution鈥� and referred to his notebook as a 鈥渕anifesto鈥� 鈥� terms that Mangione鈥檚 lawyers said were prejudicial and inappropriate.
Judge Gregory Carro said the wording had 鈥渘o bearing鈥� on him, but warned Seidemann that he鈥檚 鈥渃ertainly not going to do that at trial鈥� when jurors are present.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
