"MANGIONE'S DEATH PENALTY DIES, JAILBREAK PLOT FOILED & COP WHO KILLED MASSEY GETS 20 YEARS"

0:03 Callaroga Shark Media, Good morning, I'm reed, Carter. Monday, February second, twenty twenty six. Three major updates on Luigi Mangioni, the man accused of assassinating United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk fourteen months ago. First, the death penalty is off the table. Federal judge dismissed the murder charge Friday, calling it technically flawed. Trump administration wanted Mangioni executed. Judge said no stalking charges remain maximum sentence life in prison, not death. Second, someone tried to break him out of jail.

0:46 Wednesday night, a Minnesota man walked up to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, claiming to be an FBI agent with court papers authorizing Mangioni's release. He had a driver's license, a barbecue fork, and a pizza cutter. He's now locked up in the same facility he tried to infiltrate. Third, Manhattan District Attorney wants the state trial first July first, before the Feds get their shot in September, because under New York law, if the federal trial goes first, the state can't prosecute Mangoni for murder at all. Also today, Alicia Andrews, convicted of manslaughter in the Juliofulio ambush killing, won her appeal to remove the trial judge. YouTube viewers watching live noticed the judge's overt hostility toward the defense.

1:30 New judge assigned. Sentencing delayed again, and the former Illinois deputy who shot Sonya Massey in the face after she called nine to one one for help got twenty years maximum sentence. She was holding a pot of water. He claimed self defense. Jury didn't buy it. I'm reed Carter. Today the CEO killer's legal roller coaster, a biased judge exposed by YouTube comments, and a black woman who died asking for help. This is celebrity trials. Let's start with Luigi Mangone. The biggest criminal case of twenty twenty five is turning into the biggest legal chess match of twenty twenty six. Three major developments in five days. Let me walk you through all of them. Friday, January thirtieth, US District Judge Margaret Garnett dropped a bombshell. She dismissed the federal murder charge against Mangione, finding it was technically flawed.

2:29 The exact legal reasoning isn't fully public yet, but here's what it means. The Trump administration wanted Mangione dead. Attorney General Pambondi ordered federal prosecutors last April to seek the death penalty. Called it a premeditated, cold blooded assassination that shocked America. Judge Garnett said no, this was the first time the Justice Department sought the death penalty in Trump's second term. He came back to office promising to resume federal executions after Biden halted them. Luigi Mangione was supposed to be the test case, the example, the message. Instead, Garnett, a Biden appointee, gutted the prosecution's most powerful weapon. The federal murder charge is gone. The stalking charges remain maximum sentence if convicted, life in prison. Still serious, but not the lethal injection Trump wanted. Now here's where it gets interesting.

3:25 Mangione still faces state murder charges in Manhattan. Those carried life in prison too. DA Alvin Bragg's office has been prosecuting since day one. They were on the case before the Feds jumped in Wednesday, the day before Garnett's ruling, Manhattan prosecutors sent a letter to Judge Gregory Caro urging him to set a July first trial date. Why the rush because under New York law, if the federal trial goes first and a jury is sworn in, the state can't try Mangione for murder. Double jeopardy kicks in the Fed's scheduled jury selection for September eighth. If the state doesn't get in front of that, they lose their shot entirely.

4:06 Assistant da Joel Seideman spelled it out. The state was involved in this investigation from the start. Federal prosecutors joined two weeks after Thompson was killed. The state indicted first. It is entirely natural then that the state case would proceed to trial prior to the federal case. Translation, we were here first, we should try him first. Mangoni's next federal court date was Friday. State hearing isn't until May eighteenth. Both cases are moving, both prosecutors want their piece of him, and the scheduling conflict could determine whether Mangoni ever faces a murder trial in New York State court. Now. The jail break attempt Wednesday night, January twenty ninth, around six fifty pm the intake area at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

4:54 That's where Mangione has been held since December twenty twenty four. Same facility housing former Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro, same place that held Diddy before his conviction. A thirty six year old man named Mark Anderson approached uniformed jail officers, told them he was an FBI agent. Said he had PaperWorks signed by a judge authorizing the release of a specific inmate. That inmate Luigi Mangione. Officers asked for federal credentials. Anderson showed them a Minnesota driver's license, then threw documents at them, claimed to have weapons. They searched his bag found a barbecue fork and a circular steel blade that appeared to be a pizza cutter wheel. Not exactly tactical equipment. The documents he threw, according to the FBI agent who reviewed them, they appeared related to filing claims against the Justice Department, not release orders, not court papers, just random lawsuit filings.

5:53 Anderson was arrested on the spot, charged with impersonating a federal officer, held without bail after appearing in Brooklyn Federal court. Thursday. Now he's locked up at the same Metropolitan detention center he tried to infiltrate. Make it make sense. A man shows up at a federal jail claiming to be FBI, carrying a barbecue fork and a pizza cutter, demanding they release the most high profile defendant in America, and he thought this would work. Here's Anderson's background. Minnesota native, thirty six years old, extensive history of drug and alcohol arrests over the past two decades in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Cases pending in the Bronx, including one where he's accused of showing a gun. In a lawsuit he filed last year, Anderson disclosed that the Social Security Administration ruled him fully disabled because of mental illness. He said he had multiple disabilities and no money received state and federal assistance. Had been living in New York since at least twenty twenty three, including at motels, a homeless shelter, and a Bronx apartment.

6:57 At some point he got a job at a Bronx pizzeria, hence the pizza cutter. Maybe the connection isn't clear. Anderson has filed multiple handwritten lawsuits acting as his own lawyer. Against the Pentagon, against the Chinese and Russian ambassadors, against a Minnesota police department, all thrown out. Another lawsuit against a Bronx pizzeria, alleging they forced him to work seventy hours a week with no overtime, is still pending. This is a man with serious mental health issues who decided to attempt the most incompetent jail break in American history with a pizza cutter. Mangioni's supporters have been showing up at his court appearances wearing green, the color of Luigi from Mario Brothers, sign saying free Luigi. Some people treat him like a folk hero, the vigilante who took down a healthcare CEO. But this wasn't an organized rescue operation.

7:54 This was a mentally ill man who thought he could walk into a federal detention center and walk out with the country's most famous defendant. Anderson's court appointed lawyer hasn't commented, neither has Mangoni's legal team. The Luigi Mangoni case keeps getting stranger assassination in broad daylight arrest at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania. His journal describing plans to whack an insurance executive, The denied delay depose carved into ammunition, public sympathy for an accused killer, and now a jailbreak attempt with kitchen utensils. Federal murder charge dismissed, death penalty dead, State prosecutors racing to trial before the Feds. September federal trial still scheduled.

8:34 July state trial requested. Luigi Mangoni isn't going anywhere. He'll spend years in that Brooklyn jail waiting for trials. Both jurisdictions want him, and whoever gets him first may be the only one who gets him at all. Brian Thompson was fifty years old, CEO father walk into work, shot in the back, still waiting for justice. Fourteen months later, we'll be right back with the rapper murder case, where YouTube commenters caught what the lawyers missed. A judge so biased even strangers watching online could see it. Welcome back to celebrity trials, I'm reed, Carter. Quick update on a case we covered extensively back in October. The murder of rapper Charles Jones known as Julio Fulio. June twenty third, twenty twenty four, Tampa, Florida, Jones was gunned down in a Holiday Inn parking lot, part of a long running gang war between Jacksonville factions. Multiple masked shooters modified AR style rifles brass catchers to avoid leaving evidence coordinated ambush.

9:48 Five suspects arrested. Alicia Andrews was the first to face trial, charged with first degree murder and conspiracy. Prosecutors argued she served as the spotter, driving the survey Llances vehicle with her boyfriend Isaiah Chance, tracking Jones to multiple locations before the shooters moved in. Andrews testified in her own defense, said she didn't know about any murder plot, said she thought the Tampa trip was a reconciliation with Chance after a rocky relationship. Said she was a victim of domestic violence at his hands. October thirty, first, twenty twenty five, jury convicted her of the lesser charge of manslaughter, not murder, not conspiracy, just manslaughter, maximum sentence fifteen years. Sentencing was scheduled for December eighth. Then Andrews's attorneys filed an appeal they wanted the judge removed. Judge Michelle Cisco had presided over months of pre trial hearings and the trial itself.

10:45 Andrew's defense team argued Cisco's conduct prevented them from getting a fair trial. The allegations were specific and damning. Throughout the proceedings, Judge Cisco has exhibited overt hostility toward the defense, repeatedly interrupt in council, refusing sidebars, and visibly prompting the prosecution during witness examination. They accused Cisco of allowing prosecutors to present irrelevant evidence, of telling defense attorneys to wrap up their questioning, and in one instance, actually laughing at the defense team. Her body language and tone during defense objections have reflected irritation, impatience, and at times even anger, while her treatment of the prosecution has remained deferential and uncritical.

11:32 Judge Cisco initially denied the motion to remove herself, of course she did. Judges don't like being told they're biased. But Andrew's team appealed to the Second District Court of Appeal, and here's where it gets interesting. The defense included evidence that people watching the trial live on YouTube noticed the bias. Included in the appeal actual comments from viewers. This judge is a mess and literally cannot hide her bias. Judge hates the defense. This is not a fair trial. Random strangers on the Internet watching Court TV's YouTube stream could see what was happening. The judge's hostility was so obvious that people in the comments section were calling it out in real time. The Appeals Court agreed ordered Judge Cisco immediately removed from the case. January twenty ninth, Judge Kimberly Fernandez was assigned to take over. Judge Cisco has been on the Hillsborough County bench since two thousand and two, first appointed, then elected in two thousand and four. Over two decades on the bench, and she got pulled off a case because YouTube commenters could see her bias. No new sentencing date has been set. Andrew's face is up to fifteen years. Her four co defendants, including boyfriend Isaiah Chance, are scheduled for trial later this year. The Juliofulio case is far from over. Andrews was just the first domino.

12:54 The actual shooters haven't faced justice yet, neither have the people who allegedly planned and coordinated the ambush. Charles Jones was twenty six years old rapper known for drill music, known for the Jacksonville gang war that eventually killed him shot in a holiday in parking lot while sitting in a car. Rest in peace, Charles, someone has to say your name. Springfield, Illinois, July sixth, twenty twenty four, early morning hours, Sonia Massey, thirty six years old, called nine to one one to report a possible prowler outside her home.

13:42 She did what you're supposed to do. See something suspicious, call the police, let them handle it, stay safe. Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputies Sean Grayson and Dawson Farley responded, searched her yard, found nothing, then met Massey at her door. Body camera footage shows what happed and next. Massey appeared confused, kept saying please God. She struggled with mental health issues. The deputies entered her house. Grayson noticed a pot on the stove ordered Farley to move it. Instead, Massey went to the stove herself, retrieved the pot, teased Grayson for backing away from the hot, steaming water. What happened next took seconds. Massey said, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. Grayson drew his side arm yelled at her to drop the pan. She set the pot down, ducked behind a counter, but appeared to pick it up again.

14:41 Grayson opened fire, shot Sonya Massey in the face. She died in her own kitchen. The woman who called nine to one one for help became the victim. Grayson was charged with three counts of first degree murder. The body camera footage went public, sparked protests, raised questions about systemic racism in policing, prompted a Department of Justice inquiry. October twenty twenty five trial, Grayson took the stand, claimed he feared Massey would scald him with the hot water self defense. He was scared of a pot. The jury didn't buy first degree murder, but they convicted him of second degree murder. Illinois law allows that if the defendant honestly believed he was in danger, even if that belief was unreasonable. Massey's family was furious the justice system did exactly what it's designed to do today. It's not meant for us, her cousin said after the verdict. Thursday, January twenty ninth, sentencing day, prosecutors asked for the maximum twenty years. State's attorney John Malheiser argued that Massei would still be alive if the Department had sent someone else that night. Sonya Massey's death rocked her family, but it rocked the community, It rocked the country. We have to do whatever we can to ensure it never happens again. Grayson's attorneys asked for six years.

16:00 They noted he has late stage colon cancer that has spread to his liver and lungs. He's dying. Grayson addressed the court apologized, said he wished he could bring Massy back. I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should have acted and I didn't. I froze. I made terrible decisions that night. I'm sorry. Massy's family spoke. Her two children talked about growing up without a mother. Her mother, Donna Massey, talked about living in fear today. I'm afraid to call the police, in fear that I might end up like Sonya. Let that sink in. A mother is afraid to call nine one one because she watched what happened when her daughter did. Judge Ryan Cadogan sentenced Sean Grayson to twenty years in prison maximum sentence.

16:51 When the judge read the verdict, Massey's family erupted yes. The judge had to admonish them for the outburst. After the hearing, Massie's daughter Summer spoke to reporters, twenty years is not enough. She's right, it isn't. Sonia Massey called for help. A deputy with a documented history showed up, and he killed her because she held a pot of water and said, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. The aftermath, civil rights attorney Ben Crump negotiated a ten million dollar settlement with Sangamon County for Massey's family. The Justice Department settled an inquiry requiring more de escalation training and better use of force data collection. The sheriff who hired Grayson was forced to retire. Illinois changed its law to require fuller transparency on backgrounds of candidates for law enforcement jobs. Sean Grayson will spend up to twenty years in prison. He has terminal cancer. He may not serve all of it. But Sonya Massey is still dead, shot in the face by a man she called for help in her own home over a pot of hot water.

17:58 Some people are just evil, some people shouldn't wear a badge, and some people die because the wrong person answered their nine to one one call. Sonia Massey was thirty six years old, single mother struggled with mental health called police because she was scared. Should be alive today, should be raising her children, should be living her life. Rest in peace, Sonya. Someone has to say your name. That's Celebrity Trials. From Monday, February second, twenty twenty six. Luigi Mangioni's federal murder charge dismissed death penalty off the table. A mentally ill man with a pizza cutter tried to break him out of jail Manhattan, DA racing to get a July trial before the Feds go first. In September, Alicia Andrews gets a new judge after appeals court found bias in the Julio Fulio case. YouTube viewers saw it before the lawyers did.

18:52 Sentencing delayed, four co defendants still awaiting trial, and Sean Grayson sentenced to twenty years for killing Sonia Massy. She called nine one one, he shot her in the face. Maximum sentence still not enough. I'm read Carter tomorrow. Whatever breaks next. This is Celebrity Trials.