Police debated whether they needed a warrant to continue searching Luigi Mangione’s backpack after they arrested him and found a gun magazine wrapped in his underwear in the bag, an officer testified Monday.

The testimony came at a court hearing to determine whether police in Altoona, Penn., improperly questioned Mangione and searched his bag without a warrant as a suspect in the New York murder of Brian Thompson, a UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive.

Mangione’s lawyers are seeking to convince a state court judge in New York that Altoona police improperly questioned him before advising him of his rights, and illegally searched the backpack. The 27-year-old has pleaded not guilty in separate state and federal murder cases.

Inside the bag, Altoona police eventually found a 9-millimetre han

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