Overview
- Judge Gregory Carro ruled Monday that items seized at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s were unlawfully searched, but evidence logged later at the police station can go to the jury.
- Carro suppressed the loaded magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and a computer chip that officers pulled from the backpack at the restaurant without a valid warrant.
- The judge said the station-house search qualified as a proper inventory under Altoona police policy, so the 3D‑printed pistol and a red notebook with anti‑insurer writings are admissible.
- In the federal case, Judge Margaret Garnett previously allowed the backpack evidence and dismissed counts that had enabled the death penalty, with jury selection set for Oct. 13 and openings on Nov. 4.
- Mangione has pleaded not guilty and faces a Sept. 8 state trial date, while defense bids to toss pre‑extradition statements are still before the court and prosecutors point to DNA, fingerprints and shell casings marked with phrases tied to insurance practices.