Washington DC [US], December 24 : Luigi Mangione, accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, appeared in a New York courtroom on Monday and pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and terrorism, according to a report by CNN.
This hearing marked Mangione's initial response to the charges filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Mangione, 26, faces 11 counts, including first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and additional charges related to weapons and forgery.
Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, expressed concerns during the hearing about her client's ability to obtain a fair trial, specifically citing Mayor Eric Adams' presence last week among the dozens of heavily armed law enforcement officials as he was extradited to Lower Manhattan from Pennsylvania, CNN reported.
"He's a young man and he's being treated like a human pingpong ball by two warring jurisdictions here. They're treating him like a human spectacle," she said.
Judge Gregory Carro assured Agnifilo that her client's trial would be fair, and said that the jury would be selected carefully.
The next court date has been set for February 21.
On December 11, Mangione appeared at an extradition hearing at the Blair County Courthouse in Pennsylvania after New York prosecutors charged him with murder, among other counts.
New York prosecutors had charged Mangione, who was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 9, with one count of murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of second-degree possession of a forged document, and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Court documents show that Mangione was found with "a black 3D-printed pistol and a black silencer", according to the complaint. Detective Yousef Demes of the Midtown North Detective Squad showed evidence that proves Mangione is the person depicted in surveillance video fatally shooting Thompson outside of a Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, as CNN reported.
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