NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione’s lawyers are discussing a possible guilty plea to resolve U.S. charges relating to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson, but no deal has been finalized, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The plea talks come ahead of a Friday hearing that U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett set after federal prosecutors and defense lawyers jointly requested one. Court records didn’t identify the purpose of the hearing, and it’s possible they won’t reach a deal, according to the person, who requested anonymity because the talks are private.

Mangione, 28, faces both federal and New York state charges over the shooting of Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealth held an investor conference. Despite the horrific nature of the crime, Mangione has become a folk hero for many who say he expressed their rage at the healthcare system.

If Mangione pleads guilty, he would avoid a trial in Manhattan federal court, where jury selection is set for Jan. 5. He faces two U.S. charges of stalking resulting in death that carry a potential for life in prison without parole. It’s unclear whether Mangione is also weighing a guilty plea in New York state court, where jury selection is set for Sept. 8 in his trial on second-degree murder and other charges.

Lawyers for Mangione declined to comment, as did spokespeople for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate and former data engineer, has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Mangione’s lawyers have succeeded in paring back both cases. They persuaded Garnett to dismiss a federal murder charge that could have led to the death penalty, and won dismissal of a first-degree murder charge by Bragg. New York Judge Gregory Carro limited some evidence that state prosecutors can use against him. That ruling eliminated a possible mandatory life term in that case. If convicted in state court, he faces 25 years to life in prison.

If Mangione pleads guilty in federal court, his lawyers could argue that he can’t face trial in state court under New York’s double jeopardy law that bars defendants from being prosecuted twice for the same crime. But Bragg’s prosecutors are likely to oppose any attempt to invoke double jeopardy, saying the elements of the crimes charged are different, according to veteran defense lawyers. The decision is up to Judge Carro.

“It may throw a wrench into proceedings in state court and it could disrupt the trial,” said Mark Bederow, a former Manhattan state prosecutor.

If a federal plea deal is reached and Carro concludes there is a previous prosecution as defined under New York state law, he must dismiss the case, Bederow said.

“Whether he agrees philosophically or not, he will dismiss it, unless he finds the elements of the crimes are different,” Bederow said.

Prosecutors have assembled physical, video and DNA evidence that they say ties Mangione to the shooting of Thompson with a homemade ghost gun and silencer. Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Police recovered a homemade gun and silencer.

Authorities say they also recovered writings that show Mangione planned the shooting for weeks and had a deep dislike of the healthcare industry.

Weeks before the shooting, he wrote about the need to “wack (sic) the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise and doesn’t risk innocents. Most importantly, the point is self-evident. The point is made in the news headline ‘Insurance CEO killed at annual investors conference.’”

The federal case is U.S. v. Mangione, 25-cr-0176, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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