Luigi Mangione Claimed He Was Homeless When He Was Arrested in McDonald's, Officer Says as Bodycam Footage Shown in Court By Ben Brachfeld

Luigi Mangione tried to claim he was homeless as officers questioned him in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s last year, body camera footage shown in court on Tuesday revealed.

But the first police officer on the scene at the McDonald’s said he knew “immediately” that he had caught the man allegedly responsible for gunning down Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in Manhattan five days earlier.

The cop, Altoona Police Officer Joseph Detwiler, was answering a call with his partner on Dec. 9, 2024, from a manager whose customers thought they had recognized Thompson’s alleged shooter from his eyebrows — but the officer and his supervisor were initially so confident it couldn’t be America’s most wanted man that they had a friendly bet over a “hoagie.”

But once he arrived at the McDonald’s and asked the man to remove his mask — an uncommon sight in Altoona because, he said, the residents have “antibodies” — he was “100% sure it’s him,” he told his commanding officer over the radio, the bodycam footage showed.

“It’s him, yes he’s here, it’s him,” Detwiler said over the radio, per the footage. “I’m not kidding.”

Mangione appeared nervous, his fingers shaking, Detwiler testified. Per the footage, he gave inconsistent statements about whether he had recently been in New York, and initially tried to claim he was homeless before handing over a fake New Jersey ID bearing the name Mark Rosario.

Cops falsely told him they were responding to a call from the McDonald’s about someone staying at the restaurant too long, Detwiler said, in order to keep him calm.

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In the footage, Mangione eventually appears to realize he’s been caught, bearing a despondent face as he eats a hash brown and McMuffin while Christmas classics “Jingle Bell Rock,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Holly Jolly Christmas” play over the speakers.

Mangione, 27, is in court this week as he seeks to have certain statements he made to authorities tossed ahead of his trial, claiming his constitutional rights were violated.

Per the footage, he was read his Miranda rights about 20 minutes after officers first encountered him, while they handcuffed him and told him he was being detained for presenting a fake ID.

“I clearly shouldn’t have,” Mangione says as he’s asked why he showed the phony driver’s license. “That was the ID I had in my wallet.”

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Soon after, the officers were confident they had the alleged shooter, noting authorities in New York had relayed that a Mark Rosario with the same ID had also checked into the Manhattan hostel authorities believed the shooter stayed at prior to Thompson’s killing.

Mangione would eventually be taken into custody on charges of forgery and false identification, about 30 minutes after first encountering the officers.

On the video, officers can be seen frisking Mangione and recovering what Detwiler said was “a lot” of money, as well as a jar of peanut butter and other items. Later, officers searched his backpack and allegedly recovered a 9 mm ghost gun and a “manifesto” describing plans to “wack” a health insurance CEO.

The defense claims these materials were recovered through illegal, warrantless searches.

Mangione faces a second-degree murder charge in New York State in connection with Thompson’s killing. He also faces a federal murder charge that could land him the death penalty if convicted.

Tuesday marked the second day of Mangione’s marathon evidence suppression hearings. On Monday, prosecutors played audio from the 911 call that brought officers to the McDonald’s, as well as two prison guards who said they had long, detailed, and seemingly incriminating chats with Mangione while he was under their guard.

The stone-faced software engineer showed little visible reaction on Tuesday, occasionally fidgeting, writing things down and talking to his lawyers as he watched the footage of his final moments of freedom.