NEW YORK – Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in a surprise decision that allows the 28-year-old to avoid a federal trial and could impact a separate murder case against him in connection with the fatal shooting of a health care executive.

Mangione made the announcement during a federal court hearing in New York City on Friday, Aug. 14. After answering a series of questions about his decision, Mangione pleaded guilty to a pair of stalking charges resulting in death. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said there was no plea deal and that the government filed a letter suggesting a sentence of 24 to 30 years in prison. Garnett scheduled sentencing for Dec. 18.

Mangione is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan where Thompson was set to speak at an investment conference.

The guilty plea comes about a month before Mangione was set to stand trial for murder and other charges in New York state court. He also faces charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested and taken into custody after a five-day manhunt.

A guilty plea to federal charges could lay the groundwork for Mangione to attempt to dismiss the New York state case against him. To do so, Mangione would likely argue that the state’s double jeopardy law protects him from being prosecuted twice for the same conduct. In July, state prosecutors in a letter objected the theory that a guilty plea in federal court could negate the state’s case.

Federal prosecutors initially charged Mangione with murder through the use of a firearm and sought the death penalty. But U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett took capital punishment off the table earlier this year when she tossed out the most serious charges against Mangione. His federal court trial was set to begin in January.

Thompson’s death sparked a massive police manhunt that ended days later, when authorities arrested Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors say forensic evidence links Mangione to the scene of the shooting, including DNA and ballistics data recovered by investigators. Authorities also recovered key evidence from Mangione’s backpack in Pennsylvania, including a 3D-printed gun and writings that authorities say point to motive.

Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled certain items in Mangione’s backpack – including a loaded magazine, cell phone and wallet – were blocked from the state trial because officers in Pennsylvania conducted a warrantless search. Other key evidence, including a gun and a red notebook, uncovered during a subsequent search of the backpack, were deemed admissible.

Mangione’s court hearings have drawn supporters who’ve expressed vitriol against the U.S. health care system and view the Ivy League graduate as a kind of folk hero. Others have donated to help pay for Mangione’s legal defense. Some have written him love letters.

The killing of Thompson, a husband and father of two, led companies to evaluate their security measures, cancel in-person events and scrub their websites of top executives’ biographies and photographs.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Thao Nguyen; Reuters