Luigi Mangione , accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, appears in court for a hearing on Feb. 21 in New York. Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Nevada podcaster seeking access to Altoona police records and audio and video recordings in connection with the December arrest of murder suspect Luigi Mangione has turned to the Blair County Court of Common Pleas for help.

Attorney J. Chadwick Schnee of Lititz, in a quest to acquire those recordings and additional records on behalf of EWU Media LLC, is asking the court to review the request and the city’s forthcoming answer as it relates to Act 22 of 2017, which established procedures for seeking audio and video recordings held by law enforcement agencies.

“This may be one of the first cases to be tested under Act 22 which remains a fairly new law,” Schnee said outside court.

EWU is also asking, under the state’s Right to Know Law, for access to Altoona police records in relation to Mangione’s arrest, as well as the 911 recording prompting officers to go to the McDonald’s restaurant on Plank Road on Dec. 9. That’s where Mangione was arrested and charged with firearm and other offenses before he was extradited to New York City, where he is facing federal and state charges in the assassination-style shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In court Thursday, President Judge Wade A. Kagarise directed Altoona City solicitor Michael Wagner and Assistant District Attorney Julia Wilt to answer EWU’s petition within 30 days, and to include an outline of the relevant audio and video recordings their offices hold or have access to.

While the DA’s office wasn’t initially part of the case, Schnee and Wagner offered no objections to Kagarise’s approval of a petition to intervene that DA Pete Weeks filed in late February, allowing Weeks or his office to be involved in the related proceedings.

Wagner, in his initial response to EWU Media’s request, pointed out that the DA’s office holds statutory authority to address the request. But Kagarise deemed that response to be moot at this point, now that the DA’s petition to intervene has been granted.

The judge also advised Wagner and Wilt that once their offices come up with responses to EWU’s initial petition, he expects to issue a subsequent order directing the parties to confer and identify matters in which they agree or don’t agree.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.