NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Luigi Mangione鈥檚 state murder trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, which was slated to begin Sept. 8, has been postponed indefinitely as his lawyers seek to have the case thrown out on double jeopardy grounds following his to federal charges.
Judge Gregory Carro issued an order Monday canceling the trial and giving the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the state case, until Oct. 9 to respond to the defense’s double jeopardy claims. A hearing will be held on Dec. 10, Carro said, about a week before Mangione is scheduled to be sentenced in the federal case.
Mangione, 28, pleaded guilty Friday in Manhattan federal court to a pair of stalking charges and admitted trailing Thompson to UnitedHealth Group鈥檚 investor conference and in 2024. Federal prosecutors said they would seek life in prison when Mangione is sentenced Dec. 18, though federal sentencing guidelines call for a term of 24 to 30 years.
鈥淥n the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan, and he died,鈥� Mangione said.
Immediately after his plea, Mangione鈥檚 lawyers filed paperwork seeking to have the state case thrown out on double jeopardy and due process grounds. They described him as a 鈥減awn in parallel prosecutions” and accused state and federal prosecutors of 鈥渢rying to punish him twice for the exact conduct.鈥�
Mangione has pleaded not guilty in the state case, which also carries the possibility of a life sentence.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg鈥檚 office said in a statement that it would fight efforts to end the state case, in part because Mangione鈥檚 federal sentence isn鈥檛 yet known.
Compared with federal law and that of other states, New York has uncommonly strong protections for defendants facing multiple prosecutions. A state prosecution can be barred if a federal case involving the same course of conduct or criminal transaction ends in a guilty plea or if a jury is sworn.
It will be up to Carro to decide if that applies to Mangione. However Carro rules, his decision will be subject to appeal.
Mangione pleaded guilty to federal charges that accused him of traveling across state lines by bus to stalk and kill Thompson. The charges alleged that he used a cellphone, the internet, interstate highways and a hostel serving out-of-state customers to plan and carry out the attack.
鈥淭he full range of conduct that comprises the stalking offense is coterminous with the conduct committed as part of the murder offense,鈥� Mangione鈥檚 lawyers wrote in their double jeopardy filing.
That Mangione traveled from out of state “to be at the crime scene at the time of the shooting does nothing to eliminate the stalking of Mr. Thompson from the acts constituting his murder,鈥� they added. 鈥淭hey are all part of the same criminal incident or criminal transaction.鈥�
Bragg鈥檚 office contends that the state charges, including murder and firearms offenses, involve different legal elements and criminal conduct. In a letter last month, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann objected to the possibility of a federal guilty plea wiping out the state case.
Any guilty plea, Seidemann wrote, 鈥渕ust account for the seriousness of defendant鈥檚 offenses鈥� and for the state’s interests in prosecuting Mangione, 鈥渋ncluding the sanctity of life principle that underpins the state homicide charges.鈥�
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