Mangione Seeks Bail In PA, Formally Challenges Extradition To NY

HOLLIDAYSBURG, PA — A Dec. 30 court hearing has been scheduled for accused killer Luigi Mangione's attempt to fight extradition to New York, where he faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Blair County Common Pleas Court Judge David Consiglione also is expected to rule that day on Mangione's request for bail, which was formally filed on Thursday.

At least until that hearing date, Mangione will be housed in the State Correctional Institution Huntingdon, as he has been since being arrested Monday in an Altoona McDonald's five days after Thompson was ambushed and assassinated in Manhattan.

On Dec. 23, Mangione faces a preliminary hearing on charges filed against him in Blair County: firearms not to be carried without a license, forgery, tampering with records, false identification to law enforcement, and possessing an instrument of a crime.

Mangione's attorney, Thomas Dickey, said in a Tuesday interview on NewsNation's "Cuomo" that based on those charges, Mangione should be released on bail. Dickey contended that most crimes in Pennsylvania - excluding capital punishment cases or when punishment includes life without parole - as bailable offenses.

“[Because of] those two exclusions, he’s entitled to bail,” Dickey said. “Whether it’s $10 billion or $10,000 or whatever."

Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks is waiting on a governor's warrant, a procedural document necessary for Mangione to be extradited. It's a warrant signed by the governor of a state where a fugitive flees after a crime. The governor in that state acts on an official request from the governor of the state where the crime happened.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday she would make that request of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, but had not done so as of Friday morning. Hochul has 30 days in which to do so.