NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down a health care CEO on a Manhattan sidewalk, will face the start of his state trial on June 8, a judge ruled Friday.
Mangione was not happy about Judge Gregory Carro’s decision.
“It’s the same trial twice. One plus one equals two. This is double jeopardy by any commonsense definition,” he said as he was led from the courtroom, dressed in a brown jail uniform.
The 27-year-old is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, in December 2024 as Thompson walked from his Manhattan hotel to an annual investor conference.
Just over a week ago, jury selection for Mangione’s federal trial was scheduled for Sept. 8. While federal prosecutors under President Donald Trump’s administration sought the death penalty for Mangione, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed the charge on a legal technicality.
Mangione still faces charges in his federal and state trials that could see him serving life in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Carro stipulated that if the federal government appeals Garnett’s ruling, the state trial will start in September.
Defense attorney Karen Agnifilo said June 8 will be too soon for a state trial start date, and raised concerns about double jeopardy, arguing the state and federal cases against Mangione are too similar to try separately.
“Be ready,” Carro replied.
Agnifilo argued that her team has been working around the clock, but needs more time.
“We’re not sitting here twiddling our thumbs,” she said.
“You’ve done a great job, so be ready on June 8,” he replied.
Mangione was previously in court for a pretrial hearing to determine whether crucial evidence can be used against him in his state trial. That includes a backpack that officers found when they cornered Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after he allegedly killed Thompson. Items in the backpack included a 9 mm gun and a notebook that authorities say expressed a desire to kill an insurance executive.
Mangione’s defense team has argued the items in the backpack shouldn’t be included in his state trial because they say their client was illegally searched and not correctly read his Miranda rights. Carro will issue his ruling on the evidence suppression hearing in May.
Agnifilo told reporters after the hearing that double jeopardy is being used as a “weapon.”
“All I can say is double jeopardy is something that was meant to protect people, and they’re using it as a weapon here,” she said.
