The lawyer representing Luigi Mangione claims his client exploded outside a Pennsylvania courthouse because he was ‘agitated’ at a lack of legal representation.
Mangione – who is facing second degree murder charges for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, in front of a Manhattan hotel on December 4 – appeared in court on Tuesday to fight extradition to the Big Apple.
As he was being led into the courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Mangione, 26, yelled at reporters for being ‘completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!’
The outburst occurred after someone asked the Ivy League graduate if he ‘did it,’ referencing Brian Thompson’s murder, per the Wall Street Journal.
He also shouted out ‘this is completely unjust and an insult to the American people’ as he wrestled with police officers while shackled and in prison attire.
But speaking with Erin Burnett on her CNN show Wednesday night, defense attorney Thomas Dickey said his client was upset that he did not have legal representation at that point.
‘He’s irritated, agitated about what’s happening to him and what he’s being accused of,’ Dickey said when Burnett pressed whether he would seek a not guilty plea by way of insanity.
‘He never had any legal representation until he walked into that building yesterday.’
Luigi Mangione’s defense attorney claimed on Wednesday he was ‘agitated’ when he appeared in court on Tuesday to fight extradition to New York
He is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, and has been charged in New York with second-degree murder
Dickey went on to explain that his client began acting differently after the extradition, when he was seen pouting as he was led into a vehicle, because he found ‘somebody that he could trust.
‘If you notice, look at the film, look at the difference between when he went in and when he came out,’ the lawyer urged.
‘Once he got in, he finally had legal representation,’ he continued. ‘I like to think he had somebody that he can trust and has faith in.
‘Now he has a spokesperson and someone that’s going to fight for him.’
Dickey also said he interpreted Mangione’s outburst as ‘frustration of being a young man thrown in jail’ and noted that the first time he made contact with Mangione was when he walked through the courthouse’s door for his extradition hearing.
He claimed that Dickey was ‘upset that [Mangione] didn’t have any legal counsel prior to that’ and went on to explain that he’s mainly been learning about the case through different news outlets.
‘I appreciate the job you guys do as reporters because I’m actually using different news reports as my source of information, because nobody’s sharing these evidentiary things with me.’
Mangione did not have legal representation when he first arrived at the courthouse, his lawyer said
Defense attorney Thomas Dickey previously said there was no evidence to suggest that the 26-year-old is the person who killed Thompson at point-blank range on December 4
Dickey noted that he likely will not see any police reports before Mangione’s court hearing in Pennsylvania on gun charges on December 23.
He had previously said there was no evidence to suggest that the 26-year-old is the person who killed Thompson at point-blank range before fleeing the scene.
‘I haven’t seen any evidence that says he’s the shooter,’ he told reporters on Tuesday. ‘The fundamental concept of American justice is a presumption of innocence until you’re proven guilty.’
But on Wednesday, New York police officers laid out all of the evidence they have collected against the former valedictorian.
Fingerprints found on a Kind bar and water bottle at the scene, and fingerprints found on those matched that of Mangione’s.
Police reportedly also found a water bottle the suspect bought at Starbucks shortly before the assassination.
NYPD officials announced on Wednesday that fingerprints found on a Kind bar and water bottle at the scene, and fingerprints found on those matched that of Mangione’s
‘First, we got the gun in question back from Pennsylvania. It’s now at the NYPD crime lab,’ NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
‘We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in Midtown at the scene of the homicide.’
Meanwhile, the NYPD’s top cop, Joseph Kenny, told CBS New York that no prints were found on the bullets that killed Thompson – but there was one print on a cellphone that was recovered from the scene.
He said the evidence was being processed, but did not say whether it appeared to match Mangione.
