Luigi Mangione's lawyer has spoken out following the suspected killer's recent murder charge.
The 26-year-old graduate from the University of Pennsylvania has been linked to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Thompson was fatally shot on December 4 outside the Hilton Hotel in New York City while walking to an insurance conference hosted by his company.
After a McDonald’s employee alerted authorities, Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday (December 9).
The young man was found with a passport and $10,000 in cash - $2,000 of it in foreign currency, per Sky News.
Officer Tyler Frye and a fellow cop responded to the call. They asked Mangione to take off his blue medical mask and "recognized him immediately," adding: "We didn't even think twice about it, we knew that was our guy."
New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch also added: "Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder.
"They also recovered clothing, including a mask, consistent with those worn by our wanted individual," she continued. "Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset."
The Ivy League college graduate appeared at Blair County Courthouse the following day (December 10) and spoke to the crowd as he was ushered inside.
"It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It’s lived experience," Mangione yelled.
The 26-year-old has since been charged with second-degree murder, forgery, and three gun charges by prosecutors, and faces extradition back to New York.
He also faces separate charges of carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to the authorities, and possessing “instruments of crime", cited by The Guardian.
Mangione's lawyer, Thomas Dickey, spoke to reporters about the charges his client is facing and revealed that he hasn't received any evidence yet.
"We're going to take a look at stuff and we're going to fight it tooth and nail," he told reporters, per a video shared by Sky News. "He's being accused of some serious matters and I think he's taking it as well as he can."
During the hearing, Mangione was denied bail and remanded to Pennsylvania's Huntingdon State Correctional Institution while he awaits the extradition process.
Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, disclosed that she will sign the Manhattan district attorney’s request for a governor’s warrant to force an extradition “to ensure this individual is tried and held accountable”.