The hearing in a New York City court is part of the process that will determine what evidence prosecutors can use against Mangione, accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
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The guard said Mangione told him without prompting that he had a 3D-printed pistol in his backpack, which police say they found along with a silencer and journal writings that allegedly implicate him in the murder.
A defense attorney cast doubt on the guard’s claim that Mangione, who wore a gray suit and a white shirt with a red checkered pattern, had voluntarily given such incriminating information during the hearing before Justice Gregory Caro.
“You weren’t asking him any questions, you weren’t talking to him at all… and all of a sudden, he says to you, ‘I had a 3D-printed pistol’?” defense attorney Mark Agnifilo asked.
The guard said he did not ask Mangione any questions and testified during follow-up questioning by the prosecutor that he did not care about the outcome of the case.
Mangione’s alleged statements to law enforcement and the contents of her bag could be important pieces of evidence in her trial, but her lawyers argue that they should be inadmissible because they say she was illegally searched and not informed of her legal rights.
Prosecutors denied claims that Mangione was illegally searched and interrogated.
Removing the gun and notebook from admissible evidence would be a significant victory for Mangione’s defense and would represent a major blow to prosecutors, depriving them of the potential murder weapon and evidence they say points to motive.
Prosecutors have cited Mangione’s writings extensively in court filings, including his alleged praise of the late “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski, who carried out a series of mail bombings between 1978 and 1995.
Among other things, prosecutors say Mangione contemplated rebelling against a “malignant, greed-driven health insurance cartel” and justifying the assassination of industry executives.
Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges, and is expected to face trial next year.
He has pleaded not guilty in a separate federal case where prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
At Monday’s hearing, Mangione watched silently as prosecutors played surveillance video of Thompson’s murder and Mangione’s arrest five days later.
While eating breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 370 km (230 miles) west of Manhattan, Mangione pressed a finger to his lips and a thumb to his chin as he watched footage of two police officers approaching him.
He held a pen in his right hand, sometimes making a fist, as prosecutors played the McDonald’s manager’s 911 call, allaying customers’ concerns that Mangione looked like the suspect in Thompson’s murder.
“I have a customer here that some other customers are suspicious of, who looks like the CEO shooter, and they’re really upset, and they’re coming to me,” the employee was heard saying in a recording of the call played for the first time in court.
If Mangione is convicted of second-degree murder, defined as an intentional killing, he could face up to life in prison. He is also facing seven counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of false identification.
Judge Caro dismissed two terrorism counts against Mangione in September, finding that prosecutors had not presented enough evidence that Mangione intended to intimidate health insurance workers or influence government policy.
Several supporters of Mangione appeared outside the courthouse before the hearing, including one dressed as the villain from the video game Super Mario Bros. with a sign reading “When patients die, profits rise”, and a woman wearing a “Free Luigi” sash.
Trial dates have not been set in the state or federal cases.
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