this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2025
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Moments after Luigi Mangione was handcuffed at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, a police officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear.

The discovery, recounted in court Monday as Mangione fights to keep evidence out of his New York murder case, convinced police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that he was the man wanted in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier.

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[–] Manjushri@piefed.social 317 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

Not only did they search the bag without a warrant...

Wasser resumed her search after an 11-minute drive to the police station and almost immediately found the gun and silencer — the latter discovery prompting her to laugh and exclaim “nice,” according to body-worn camera footage. Wasser said the gun was in a side pocket that she hadn’t searched at McDonald’s.

She had the bag in her car for over ten minutes, with not witnesses or video, and then after resuming the incomplete search almost immediately found the gun and silencer. My read is that there is every possibility that the gun and silencer could have been placed in the bag during that transport.

An officer concerned about a bomb accidentally being brought to the police station (again) would hardly forget to look in the bag's side pockets. Nor is it reasonable to suggest that they could overlook a gun and silencer in the initial search of the bag.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 93 points 11 hours ago (5 children)

I remember OJ Simpson getting off a double-murder because there was a remote possibility that someone (actually several hundred people) orchestrated a conspiracy to plant evidence.

He stabbed two people to death and there was DNA evidence tying him to the crime scene.

[–] ChokingHazard@lemmy.world 27 points 9 hours ago (12 children)

Not remote, they did. Police corruption let him off. If they let the evidence do its job there was enough to convict.

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 26 points 8 hours ago

They went with their instincts and tried to frame a guy who just happened to actually be guilty, and it backfired on them.

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[–] SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 20 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (2 children)

Yeah, I thought it was known long ago that the chain of possession (or whatever the term is) for the backpack is fucked. Idk why this isn't being used straight away to throw away all evidence.

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[–] Makeitstop@lemmy.world 191 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (4 children)

On body-worn camera video played in court, Wasser was heard saying she wanted to check the bag for bombs before removing it from the McDonald’s. Despite that concern, she acknowledged in her testimony Monday that police never cleared the restaurant of customers or employees.

Unless they had probable cause to believe there was a bomb, that's absolutely no excuse for a search. Might as well just get rid of the fourth amendment altogether if police can just imagine the possibility of a dangerous object and excuse searching anything at any time.

If she really thought there was a bomb, she is recklessly handling this herself instead of calling in a properly trained and equipped bomb squad. But far worse, she claims she needed to check it so as not bring a bomb to the station, but apparently has no problem potentially handling a bomb around a bunch of innocent bystanders.

That she is lying in order to justify what she knew to be an illegal search is actually the least damning interpretation. Either way though, the evidence should be thrown out along with her career.

[–] Manjushri@piefed.social 108 points 13 hours ago

I replied at about the same time as you, with similar comment, but I wanted to add that she didn't 'find' the gun and silencer until she took the bag on an 11 minute ride to the station in her car. How do you search a bag for a possible bomb and miss a handgun and silencer? That is an incompetent search or the gun wasn't there during the initial search and was added later.

[–] 13igTyme@piefed.social 29 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

That's the bullshit issue with probable cause. A "hunch" is proof enough and can range from good instincts to racism.

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 12 points 11 hours ago (5 children)

Not always. Well, maybe it depends on the jurisdiction. But, for example, stopping and searching cars has a lot more leeway than searching a house. Maybe searching people in public is the same? I remember New York has/had that stop and frisk law.

Of course I am not arguing against you, as I agree that it’s all bullshit and unconstitutional. This case especially. People have gotten off for much less technicalities, and yet Mangione is still on trial. He will never see a fair trial.

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[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 16 points 8 hours ago

Not only that but also somehow failed to find a full sized pistol and silencer while searching the bag for explosives, which is pretty alarming.

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[–] delgato@sh.itjust.works 108 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Wouldn’t the bullets that killed the CEO be in the corpse and not Luigi’s bag? Sounds like exculpatory evidence to me…

[–] credo@lemmy.world 22 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

The scalpel would be in the surgeon’s hand. This sounds like circumstantial evidence.

[–] uninvitedguest@piefed.ca 26 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (2 children)

The circumcision would be in the Mohel's tip box. This sounds like prima facie evidence.

[–] lunelovegood@ttrpg.network 96 points 9 hours ago (8 children)

We can't trust any 'evidence' cops find because they have an extensive history of planting it.

[–] n0respect@lemmy.world 22 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

What kind of assassin carries an extra magazine?

[–] themaninblack@lemmy.world 23 points 6 hours ago

And days after? Makes no sense.

[–] regedit@lemmy.zip 12 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Gotta make 100% sure he's good and dead, reload, and then make even more sure he's really dead. Haven't you played those Hitman games?!

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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 80 points 14 hours ago (3 children)

Could this dude be any more photogenic? Goddamn

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[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 71 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Ridiculous. There’s like ten thousand people who can testify that he was with them at the time of the shooting.

[–] Zagam@piefed.social 28 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

The problem is that they're all lying to cover for him. i know this because he was with me at the time. We were talking fashion, he was giving me tips.

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[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 62 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

No way to know if those bullets and other objects on the bag were there or were planted by the cops.

[–] IntrovertTurtle@lemmy.zip 53 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

This. They didn't find the gun or the manifesto until after the bag was taken to the station. Haven't seen the bodycam video, but cops carry 9mm pistols, so it would be incredibly easy for them to plant a mag during his being detained. A gun would be easy to plant once at the station, where they also just happened to 'find' his 'manifesto'.

[–] Manjushri@piefed.social 45 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

My hunch is that the shooter, whoever it was, dumped the gun, silencer, and manifesto somewhere and the cops found it. When they decided they had the shooter in custody, they 'found' the evidence in his possession.

[–] DarkSirrush@piefed.ca 12 points 10 hours ago

Doubtful, the manifesto was full of cop dicksucking and tied off any possible loose ends perfectly.

It was a cops fanfic manifesto they are claiming is legit.

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 45 points 14 hours ago (4 children)

Why go through the trouble of makkng a "ghost gun" if you're going to keep stuff like this? It doesn't really make sense.

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[–] notgivingmynametoamachine@lemmy.world 58 points 13 hours ago (8 children)

Wasn’t the official story such that a search at the scene of arrest found nothing, but suddenly the gun was found on search once the bag was in police custody in a second location? It’s hard to keep track of the truth in 2025.

[–] chaogomu@lemmy.world 37 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

After an 11-minute car ride with no video. Suddenly, there's a gun in the side pocket, one that was conveniently overlooked before.

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[–] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 33 points 12 hours ago (5 children)

"A loaded gun magazine" aka just a magazine, you don't describe a magazine as loaded. They just wanted to use the word loaded to make it seem more dangerous so the jury sees him as violent

[–] LambeauLeap@sopuli.xyz 14 points 12 hours ago (4 children)

Magazines are actually empty by default

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[–] Steve@startrek.website 13 points 10 hours ago

“Loaded” seems perfectly fine to describe a full magazine.

Its natural to say “reload my magazine”

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[–] actualaccount@sopuli.xyz 30 points 10 hours ago

In the part of rural Pennsylvania where people have guns. Yeah, Ok.

[–] switcheroo@lemmy.world 27 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Nah I don't believe it. Look at that face. He should be pat on the head and sent home with well-wishes.

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[–] myfunnyaccountname@lemmy.zip 26 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

Was it just a random collection of unfired rounds in different calibers?

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[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 24 points 7 hours ago

He was up here in Ottawa hoisting a beer with me at my local pub.

[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 20 points 14 hours ago (3 children)

Damn, i have a loaded magazine in my backpack, i guess I should be a suspect.

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[–] WanderWisley@lemmy.world 18 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Luigi wasn’t there he was with me, we were picking blueberries in the woods.

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[–] cv_octavio@piefed.ca 17 points 1 hour ago

Well that clinches it. Bullets are super rare in the US. 

[–] super_user_do@feddit.it 14 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Thats impossible bro we were playing Civ VI together that night

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[–] kikutwo@lemmy.world 12 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Wait, doesn't everyone bring a loaded ghost gun to McDonald's?

[–] pennomi@lemmy.world 29 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Bullets in a magazine is NOT a loaded gun. The magazine must be in the gun for it to be considered loaded.

[–] tidderuuf@lemmy.world 13 points 11 hours ago

Yup! Pretty much everywhere it's common knowledge and many times a fact in court cases that if the loaded magazine is not in the firearm then the firearm is not loaded.

Just goes to show how many of these news outlets are bending the facts to make him look guilty. Something I'm sure his legal team will point out and already have a few times.

[–] PattyMcB@lemmy.world 11 points 14 hours ago

That photo is epic

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