Luigi Mangione bizarrely had a bus ticket with the title “Sam Dawson” in his jacket pocket when he was arrested for the homicide of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson final 12 months, it was revealed in Manhattan court docket Thursday.
An proof photograph displayed in Manhattan Supreme Court docket confirmed the crumbled Greyhound ticket from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh with the passenger title “Sam Dawson,” dated Dec. 4, 2024 — the identical day that Mangione, 27, allegedly gunned down the married dad of two in Midtown.
Altoona, PA., police officer Tyler Frye — who discovered Mangione seated at a again desk in a neighborhood McDonald’s on Dec. 9, 2024 — testified in regards to the arrest and the gadgets the suspect had with him on day three of proof suppression hearings within the sensational case.
The bus ticket acknowledged that “Dawson” was anticipated to reach in Pittsburgh at 11:55 p.m. — greater than 12 hours after Mangione alleged fatally shot Thompson on West 54th Avenue. It’s unclear if Mangione bought the ticket himself.
Sam Dawson is the title of the intellectually disabled titular character performed by Sean Penn within the 2001 movie “I Am Sam.”
Mangione, who appeared in court docket on the one-year anniversary of the alleged killing, appeared to pay shut consideration to Frye’s testimony as he continued to remain engaged by scribbling down notes.
Frye revealed that officers carried out an “in-depth” probe of Mangione — which he defined was a strip-search — one thing that isn’t routinely achieved within the metropolis about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh however allowed for the suspect to be “searched extra totally.”
“We don’t do them fairly often,” he testified.
Bodycam footage performed in court docket appeared to indicate Mangione strip down earlier than the officer’s digicam turned off and went black, which Frye defined was customary protocol for that kind of search.
Different footage confirmed an officer on the station talking on the cellphone, saying that cops “discovered every kind of goodies” — together with a handgun and a suppressor — inside Mangione’s backpack.
Proof images submitted by the court docket confirmed a USB drive hooked up to a silver necklace that Mangione was carrying on the time of his arrest.
Frye, who had been employed simply six months with the Altoona Police Division on the time of the bust, was studying the way to carry out site visitors stops with Patrolman Joseph Detwiler after they obtained a name about Mangione — a “suspicious” particular person carrying a medical masks, a tan beanie and black jacket — sitting for too lengthy contained in the fast-food joint, he testified.
Bodycam footage from Frye confirmed the officers method Mangione at the back of McDonald’s the place they requested for his title, and Mangione mentioned it was “Mark Rosario” — earlier than presenting a pretend New Jersey driver’s license with the identical title.
At one level, Frye was left alone at Mangione’s desk and may very well be hear making small discuss, asking him “What brings you up right here from New Jersey?”
Mangione answered again in a low tone, which Frye mentioned he took as that means the suspect wasn’t focused on speaking.
“It was one thing alongside the strains of: He didn’t wish to discuss to me at the moment,” Frye advised Manhattan prosecutors.
Frye later mentioned Mangione advised him he was simply “attempting to make use of the Wi-Fi” inside McDonald’s.
Mangione has pleaded not responsible to all expenses.
The hearings will resume Friday.
