Luigi Mangione's attorney interrupted a potential outburst by his client during an appearance in Pennsylvania.
Thomas Dickey said, "Don't say a word," as Mangione, 26, began to speak, "I'm the lawyer, I'll do the talking," according to PEOPLE. Mangione apparently took his lawyer's advice.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mangione shouted to reporters as he was being dragged into the courthouse by law enforcement, "It's completely out of touch. It's an insult to the intelligence of the American people and its lived experience!"
Mangione is charged with second-degree murder, a weapons charge, and a forgery charge. He has been denied bail but did contest extradition to New York. The extradition process could take weeks, CBS reported.
Mangione allegedly shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Dec. 4 as he walked to a meeting with investors in Manhattan. The crime has become a lightning rod for people upset with the health insurance industry.
CBS reported that Dickey addressed reporters after the hearing: "If you're an American, you believe in the American criminal justice system, you have to presume him to be innocent," Dickey said. "None of us would want anything other than that if that were us in those shoes."
Also, more details emerged regarding Mangione's arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. A regular customer identified as "Larry" told CBS, "The one guy said, 'It looks like the shooter from New York.' Well, then we laughed, and I guess he placed his order and we went on about our business, but we were kidding, like, wouldn't that be something?"
Although it began as a joke, another customer also thought Mangione resembled the shooter based on images released by the police. That customer told an employee who called the police, CBS reported.
Originally published in Lawyer Herald
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