Defense argues double jeopardy bars state murder trial of UnitedHealthcare CEO's killer
Lawyers for Luigi Mangione contend that his federal guilty plea to stalking precludes a separate New York state murder and weapons case, and a judge will rule on the dismissal request by Dec. 10.
Lawyers for Luigi Mangione asked a New York Supreme Court justice on Friday to dismiss the state murder and weapons case, arguing that his August guilty plea to federal stalking charges bars a second prosecution under double-jeopardy law. The state trial, originally set for Sept. 18, was postponed indefinitely while the court considers the motion, with a decision expected on Dec. 10.
Mangione, who pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to interstate stalking that resulted in death, admitted to using a 3D-printed firearm to shoot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown Hilton on Dec. 4, 2024. He faces a potential life sentence in the federal case at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 18. If the state case proceeds, the maximum penalty is 25 years to life.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office maintains that the state charges differ because they focus on second-degree murder and weapons possession, offenses not defined by the federal statutes. Prosecutors point to a double-jeopardy exception that could allow the state case to continue if the court finds distinct legal elements.
"Here, Mangione was charged by the federal grand jury with possession of the same firearm at the same time and at the same location as the People are charging here. There is and was no other gun," wrote defense attorneys Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo and Jacob Kaplan in a letter to Justice Gregory Carro.
"There is no basis to find such a difference, much less a sufficiently great difference as to fit within the narrow statutory exception," the attorneys added.
State prosecutors argue that the federal stalking conviction involved non-violent conduct, citing a ruling by U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett that dismissed two counts that could have supported a death-penalty request. Lead prosecutor Joel Seidemann contended that the state indictment includes unique elements, such as the murder charge itself, that are not covered by the federal plea.
The case has drawn attention to the use of 3D-printed firearms and the legal interplay between federal and state jurisdictions in high-profile violent crimes.