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Fear and hoagies in Altoona: 5 strange details from this week's Mangione hearings
By
Walter Wuthmann
Published Dec 6, 2025
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Photo by Michael M. Santiago / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
By
Walter Wuthmann
Published Dec 6, 2025
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A McDonald’s in panic. $7,000 hidden away in a wallet styled with sea turtles. A cop being offered a free sandwich as a reward for arresting the suspected New York City shooter.
These are just a few of the details that emerged in a Manhattan courtroom this week in the case of Luigi Mangione as attorneys argue over what evidence should be allowed at trial.
Defense attorneys say Pennsylvania police officers did not read Mangione his Miranda rights and did not have a proper warrant when they initially interrogated him and searched his backpack. Prosecutors argue that police followed procedure and the evidence they gathered ties the 27-year-old to the Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Here are five notable details from this week’s suppression hearings:
'He looks like the CEO shooter'
The public for the first time this week heard the 911 call that led to Mangione’s arrest in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. A manager there, whose name has not been released, called police because customers in her restaurant were “really upset.”
“I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of, that he looks like the CEO shooter from New York,” she can be heard saying. The manager said even though the man was wearing a blue medical mask and beanie, Mangione’s distinctive eyebrows caught the customers’ attention.
A hoagie for the history books
Altoona police officers were initially skeptical of the tip leading them to the McDonald’s, according to testimony. Patrolman Joseph Detwiler testified this week that as he responded to the call last December his supervisor texted him: “If you get the New York City shooter I’ll buy you a hoagie.” He said he replied, “Consider it done.”
Detwiler said as soon as he approached the man and asked him to lower his mask, “I knew it was him immediately. ... I watch a lot of Fox News."
Detwiler added this week that he'd seen photos of the murder suspect’s face shared by the NYPD “many, many times.”
$7,000 in a sea turtle wallet
New exhibits unveiled in court this week show police seized a blue-and-white zippered pouch from inside Mangione’s winter coat.
The fabric case, decorated with a Hawaiian-style sea turtle pattern, contained more than $7,000 in crisp $100 bills, according to the exhibits, along with a few notes in foreign currency, including Thai baht and Indian rupees.
'Epstein-style' situation
Pennsylvania prison guard Tomas Rivers testified Monday that Mangione was placed under “constant watch” when he was transferred to the maximum-security SCI-Huntington before extradition to New York.
Rivers said the superintendent told him the prison “did not want an ‘Epstein-style’ situation.” The late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in jail before he could be tried, according to a New York medical examiner. Epstein's death drew intense scrutiny and inspired countless conspiracy theories.
Rivers said that while Mangione was being held, the two talked about the defendant’s favorite writers, including George Orwell, Henry David Thoreau and Aldous Huxley. Mangione recommended Rivers read Huxley’s “The Doors of Perception,” a book about the author’s experiences under the influence of psychedelic drugs.
Mark Rosario?
Body camera footage played in court shows Mangione initially told police he was a homeless man named Mark Rosario. Mangione gave officers a New Jersey ID with a picture of his face and the false name.
Prosecutors allege Mangione checked into an Upper West Side hostel under the name Mark Rosario before shooting Thompson on Dec. 4 of last year.
Prosecutors also showed images of a bus ticket from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh recovered during Mangione’s arrest with the name “Sam Dawson.” This is the first time law enforcement has suggested Mangione used more than one alias.
The evidentiary hearings will continue next week in Manhattan Criminal Court. Judge Gregory Carro will ultimately decide what evidence can be included at trial. He has not yet set a trial date.
Tagged
courts
new york city
public safety
Walter Wuthmann
Walter Wuthmann is a reporter covering public safety and the legal system.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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