A judge in a New York state court ruled on May 18, 2026, that several items found in Luigi Mangione’s backpack must be suppressed as evidence because the search was warrantless and improper [1, 2].
Mangione is accused of murdering Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO, on December 4, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel [1, 2]. He was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police searched his backpack without a warrant [1, 2].
Judge Gregory Carro said, “The search of the backpack at the misconduct at the McDonald’s was an improper warrantless search,” and ordered key items excluded from the trial. The suppressed evidence includes a magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip found during the December 9 arrest [1]. He added, “The evidence found during the search of the backpack at the McDonald’s must be suppressed, including the magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip” [1].
Prosecutors had argued that exigent circumstances justified searching the backpack without a warrant, but the judge rejected that claim [1]. However, he allowed the use of a journal that was found in the backpack because it was inventoried later at police headquarters and was not opened during the initial search [1, 2].
Mangione appeared in court shortly after the ruling, wearing a navy blue suit [1]. The case remains scheduled for further hearings in Manhattan state court as the trial proceeds.
