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NEW YORK (AP) — On Friday, Luigi Mangione addressed the court with frustration over the scheduling of consecutive trials concerning the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He argued to the judge, “This is essentially the same trial happening twice. One plus one equals two. By any reasonable definition, this is double jeopardy.”
The 27-year-old Mangione made these comments as court officers led him out of the courtroom. This followed the judge’s decision to set his state murder trial for June 8, a date that precedes the federal case jury selection by three months.
Judge Gregory Carro delivered his ruling after an extensive discussion with both prosecutors and the defense team. He noted that the state trial might be postponed to September 8 should there be any appeals delaying the federal proceedings.
Mangione’s defense team expressed their disapproval of the June trial date. They informed Judge Carro that they would be deeply engaged in preparing for the federal trial during that period, which involves accusations that Mangione stalked Thompson prior to the murder.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo remarked, “Mr. Mangione is facing an impossible dilemma. This situation has become a tug-of-war between two different prosecutorial bodies.”
“The defense will not be ready on June 8,” she added.
“Be ready,” Carro replied.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, both of which carry the possibility of life in prison. Last week, the judge in the federal case ruled that prosecutors can’t seek the death penalty.
Jury selection in the federal case is set for Sept. 8, followed by opening statements and testimony on Oct. 13.
Wearing a tan jail suit, Mangione sat quietly at the defense table until his outburst at the end of the hearing.
As the trial calendar began to take shape, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann sent a letter to Carro asking him to begin the New York trial on July 1.
The prosecutor argued that the state’s interests “would be unfairly prejudiced by an unnecessary delay” until after the federal trial. Under the law, he said, the state has “priority of jurisdiction for purposes of trial, sentencing and incarceration” because Mangione was arrested by New York City police, not federal authorities.
When Mangione was arrested, federal prosecutors said they anticipated that the state trial would go first. Seidemann told Carro on Friday that Thompson’s family has also expressed a desire to see the state trial happen first.
“It appears the federal government has reneged on its agreement to let the state, which has done most of the work in this case, go first,” Carro said Friday.
Scheduling the state trial first could help Manhattan prosecutors avoid double jeopardy issues. Under New York law, the district attorney’s office could be barred from trying Mangione if his federal trial happens first.
The state’s double jeopardy protections kick in if a jury has been sworn in a prior prosecution, such as a federal case, or if that prosecution ends in a guilty plea. The cases involve different charges but the same alleged course of conduct.
Mangione isn’t due in court again in the state case until May, when Carro is expected to rule on a defense request to exclude certain evidence that prosecutors say connects Mangione to the killing.
Those items include a 9 mm handgun that prosecutors say matches the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which they say he described his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive.
Last week, Garnett ruled that prosecutors can use those items at that trial.
In September, Carro threw out state terrorism charges but kept the rest of the case, including an intentional murder charge.
Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.