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Mangione, a Maryland native who will turn 27 next week, is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel.
In a new court filing, his attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, raises several allegations regarding the case:
Illegally Obtained Evidence: She claims that the evidence in question was obtained unlawfully after he was apprehended at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania following a days long manhunt.
"Law enforcement conducted a warrantless search of Mr. Mangione's backpack in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights after he was already handcuffed and surrounded by 10 police officers," Agnifilo's filing states.
Inapplicability of Terrorism Charges: Agnifilo argues that the terrorism charges do not apply in this situation.
"As the grand jury evidence failed to establish the required element that Mr. Mangione intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping," the filing states.
Double Jeopardy Violation: She contends that the simultaneous state and federal prosecutions violate the double jeopardy clause, the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause.
"As a result of unprecedented prosecutorial one-upmanship," the defense's filing says, "Mr. Mangione now faces three simultaneous prosecutions in three different jurisdictions-one of which is seeking the death penalty, while another is seeking life imprisonment — all for one set of facts."
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the December killing of Thompson, who was gunned down outside the New York Hilton just before UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor event.
Federal prosecutors say the killing was a politically motivated act of terror, involving premeditation and public endangerment. Mangione is being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs is also in custody on unrelated charges.
Friedman Agnifilo argued that the government’s narrative relies on a mischaracterization.
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