CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione waives extradition, set to be transported to NY
Luigi Mangione expected to face federal charges in addition to 11-count indictment: ABC sources
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The suspect charged with fatally shooting a health insurance company chief executive on a busy Midtown Manhattan street appeared in court in Pennsylvania where he waived extradition to New York.
The judge in Pennsylvania had to accept the waiver or go forward with a scheduled hearing immediately following a separate hearing on the local charges Mangione faces.
The NYPD was at the courthouse to transport Mangione from Pennsylvania to New York.
Weather permitting, the NYPD would fly Mangione to New York and deliver him straight to court to be booked and processed. He would then be arraigned as soon as Thursday late afternoon before the judge assigned to his case.
"I'm ready to bring him back and make sure justice is served to someone who had the audacity to gun down any New Yorker regardless what their title is," Governor Kathy Hochul said.
The waiting line of reporters and spectators outside the Blair County Courthouse where Mangione's hearing was being held snaked around the block before the building's doors opened Thursday morning.
Several people were quietly holding homemade signs. One, echoed the words written on bullets found at the Midtown scene where UnitedHealthare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot: "Deny, Defend, Depose."
Adam Giesseman, held a "Free Luigi" sign which also said "Murder for Profit is Terrorism," and told ABC News he drove here to Hollidaysburg, Penn. from Ohio last night for this occasion.
"Our country is broken," he said. He does not, however, plan to disrupt proceedings with his message, he added.
Another waiting spectator Natalie, who would only give her first name and wore a medical mask, and voiced frustration that the insurance system is "set up for profit over people's health."
"It's unfortunate that this happened, and I'm not glorifying it in any way -- but it's brought attention to the issue that affects all Americans," she said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday announced Mangione had been indicted on first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. He is also charged with: two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third-degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
The slaying in the heart of Midtown Manhattan was "intended to evoke terror," Bragg said at a news conference.
"This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder," Bragg said. "This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has been working day in and day out to bring the defendant to justice."
In addition to that 11-count indictment secured by the Manhattan district attorney's office, Mangione is expected to face federal charges out of the Southern District of New York, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
"The federal government's reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns," said Mangione's lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo in a statement. "We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought."
The SDNY and the FBI's New York field office both declined to comment.
Federal charges could make Mangione eligible for the death penalty. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the state charges.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after nearly one week on the run.
When Mangione was apprehended, he had a 9 mm handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, a homemade silencer, two ammunition magazines and live cartridges, prosecutors said.
RELATED | Supporters of suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione establish defense fund
Mangione hired Karen Friedman Agnifilo as his lawyer in New York. She was a 25-year veteran of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and its second in command for 8 years.
His court appearance in Pennsylvania is set for 9 a.m. Thursday.
RELATED | Timeline of UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting
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Information from ABC News and the Associated Press
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