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Luigi Mangione is expected to be brought before a Manhattan judge on Thursday for arraignment on a first-degree murder charge that could keep him imprisoned for life, Business Insider has learned.
The 26-year-old suspect has agreed to formally waive extradition at a hearing Thursday morning in Blair County, Pennsylvania, a law enforcement source told BI, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to their connection to the case.
Barring any last-minute change of heart by Mangione — who has previously been fighting extradition — he would be immediately transferred to the custody of NYPD officers. The officers would then transport him to New York from Pennsylvania, where he has been held since his arrest 9 days ago in the December 4 shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
"We have indications that the defendant may waive" extradition, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in announcing Mangione's indictment on Tuesday, without naming an arraignment date.
Once in Manhattan, Mangione would be brought directly to the Midtown North police precinct, home base for the Thompson murder investigation, said a second law enforcement source who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
After some preliminary processing, he will then be escorted out of the precinct.
"They want to do a perp walk for the media," in front of Midtown North, the second source said.
The precinct is in the same neighborhood where Thompson, a father of two sons from Minnesota, was ambushed outside a Hilton hotel, where he had been scheduled to speak at an investor meeting for the nation's largest healthcare insurer.
Police say Mangione is linked to the shooting by ballistic, DNA, and fingerprint evidence, in addition to writings recovered from him on his arrest.
Law enforcement is planning for an afternoon or early evening arraignment on Thursday, again barring any last-minute hitches that could push the timing into Friday.
Mangione's Pennsylvania hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday.
New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro, a more than 20-year veteran of the Manhattan criminal bench, will preside over the arraignment and be Mangione's judge going forward, according to court and law-enforcement sources.
Carro's last high-profile case was the electric-scooter death of movie and television actor Lisa Banes, who appeared in "Cocktail," "Gone Girl," and "Masters of Sex."
Mangione's New York attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Bragg declined comment.
