Luigi Mangione bizarrely had a bus ticket with the name “Sam Dawson” in his jacket pocket when he was arrested for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year, it was revealed in Manhattan court Thursday.
An evidence photo displayed in Manhattan Supreme Court showed the crumbled Greyhound ticket from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh with the passenger name “Sam Dawson,” dated Dec. 4, 2024 — the same day that Mangione, 27, allegedly gunned down the married dad of two in Midtown.
Altoona, PA., police officer Tyler Frye — who found Mangione seated at a back table in a local McDonald’s on Dec. 9, 2024 — testified about the arrest and the items the suspect had with him on day three of evidence suppression hearings in the sensational case.
Luigi Mangione had a bus ticket with a fake name in his pocket when he was apprehended last year for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.Stephen Yang for the NY Post
The bus ticket stated that “Dawson” was expected to arrive in Pittsburgh at 11:55 p.m. — more than 12 hours after Mangione alleged fatally shot Thompson on West 54th Street. It’s unclear if Mangione purchased the ticket himself.
Sam Dawson is the name of the intellectually disabled titular character played by Sean Penn in the 2001 film “I Am Sam.”
Mangione, who appeared in court on the one-year anniversary of the alleged killing, seemed to pay close attention to Frye’s testimony as he continued to stay engaged by scribbling down notes.
Frye revealed that officers performed an “in-depth” probe of Mangione — which he explained was a strip-search — something that isn’t routinely done in the city about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh but allowed for the suspect to be “searched more thoroughly.”
“We don’t do them very often,” he testified.
Mangione’s crumbled Greyhound bus ticket had the name “Sam Dawson” with photo evidence displaying the bus route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, 2024.REUTERS
Bodycam footage played in court appeared to show Mangione strip down before the officer’s camera turned off and went black, which Frye explained was standard protocol for that type of search.
Other footage showed an officer at the station speaking on the phone, saying that cops “found all kinds of goodies” — including a handgun and a suppressor — inside Mangione’s backpack.
Evidence photos submitted through the court showed a USB drive attached to a silver necklace that Mangione was wearing at the time of his arrest.
Mangione also carried foreign currency from Thailand, India, and Japan in his Hawaiian-printed wallet, according to an unsealed photo. The Ivy League grad had 1000 yen from Japan, 100 baht, and 20 baht banknotes from Thailand, and 500 rupees from India — alongside over $7,000 US cash, the photo showed.
Mangione vanished for several months on a solo Asia trip, where he stopped in Japan and Thailand, before abruptly returning to allegedly gun down Thompson.
Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9, 2024, after being spotted at a McDonald’s restaurant.Stephen Yang for the NY Post
Frye, who had been employed just six months with the Altoona Police Department at the time of the bust, was learning how to perform traffic stops with Patrolman Joseph Detwiler when they got a call about Mangione — a “suspicious” person wearing a medical mask, a tan beanie and black jacket — sitting for too long inside the fast-food joint, he testified.
Bodycam footage from Frye showed the officers approach Mangione in the back of McDonald’s where they asked for his name, and Mangione said it was “Mark Rosario” — before presenting a fake New Jersey driver’s license with the same name.
At one point, Frye was left alone at Mangione’s table and could be hear making small talk, asking him “What brings you up here from New Jersey?”
Additional evidence showed that Mangione also carried a fake New Jersey driver’s license under the name of “Mark Rosario.”REUTERS
Mangione answered back in a low tone, which Frye said he took as meaning the suspect wasn’t interested in talking.
“It was something along the lines of: He didn’t want to talk to me at that time,” Frye told Manhattan prosecutors.
Frye later said Mangione told him he was just “trying to use the Wi-Fi” inside McDonald’s.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The hearings will resume Friday.
