(Bloomberg) — Luigi Mangione is set to appear in state court in New York Monday morning for his arraignment on murder and weapons charges over the shooting of a top UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive.
The hearing will be the first time the 26-year-old Maryland native and his lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, will formally respond to the charges by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The time of the hearing has not yet been announced.
Mangione had been expected to appear in state court last week, but the arraignment was postponed after federal prosecutors announced their own set of charges. While the two cases will proceed simultaneously, the Justice Department said the state case is expected to go to trial first.
Mangione allegedly waited outside a midtown Manhattan hotel before shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside an investor meeting on Dec. 4 with a 3D-printed ghost gun, prosecutors said. Mangione then fled Manhattan, touching off a five-day manhunt that ended with his arrest at a McDonald’s in western Pennsylvania.
In court on Monday, Mangione is expected to enter a plea on multiple counts. New York prosecutors elevated the state case to first-degree murder, a charge reserved for “the most abhorrent conduct,” like killing a police officer or terrorism, Bragg said. Mangione also faces two counts of second-degree murder, multiple weapon charges, and one count of possessing a forged driver’s license.
Meanwhile, the federal criminal complaint against Mangione by the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan elevates the potential penalties he may face. Mangione’s lawyer has said the federal case is “death eligible,” though prosecutors haven’t said yet if they are seeking the death penalty.
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