NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, beaming for the cameras, made his way back to court on Tuesday. His defense team contends that Pennsylvania police breached his constitutional rights during his arrest at an Altoona McDonald’s, following the high-profile assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The first to testify was Altoona Police Officer George Featherstone. In his role as an evidence custodian, Featherstone is responsible for logging new evidence and maintaining the security of the evidence room, a crucial element in the ongoing legal proceedings.

Brian Thompson, 50, a father of two from Minnesota, was in New York City for a shareholder conference in midtown Manhattan. Tragically, he was shot by a gunman who approached him from behind on a sidewalk just outside the conference hotel.

In the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Luigi Mangione stood before the judge as his lawyers sought to suppress critical evidence. This includes items taken from his backpack at the time of his arrest and statements he allegedly made during the incident at McDonald’s, as well as to jail guards afterward.

The case, which sees Mangione charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, is being closely watched as it unfolds in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The current focus is on the evidence suppression hearing, which could significantly impact the outcome of the trial.

Luigi Mangione, charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, appears in State Supreme Court in Manhattan during an evidence suppression hearing in his case Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.  (Seth Wenig, Pool via AP)

While they raised Fourth and Fifth Amendment concerns, prosecutors have dismissed the claims, arguing that police acted lawfully and appropriately, that the warrantless search of his bag after his arrest was routine and legal and that the only relevant non-Mirandized statement he made was to allegedly give officers a fake name when he showed them a phony ID.

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in New York.  (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

Officers are allowed to ask someone’s name without reading a Miranda warning, legal experts say. And a search of his backpack would typically be legal without a search warrant after his arrest.

Featherstone testified that he could not think of an instance where someone was brought to the precinct and an item like a backpack wasn’t searched. When a bag or a person is searched, every area is searched.

Luigi Mangione allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)

The department would not release contraband back to someone, he added.

Luigi Mangione, charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, appears in State Supreme Court in Manhattan during an evidence suppression hearing in his case Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (Curtis Means for Daily Mail)

The defense, however, raised additional concerns about evidence collection during cross-examination. Multiple bags were handed over to the NYPD, the lead investigative agency on Thompson’s murder, without times written on them.

Mangione faces up to life in prison if convicted on a second-degree murder charge in New York. He also faces federal charges that carry the potential death penalty and lesser charges in Pennsylvania.