HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Blair County district attorney’s office has filed a letter affirming that New York authorities won’t release Luigi Mangione for in-person court appearances in Hollidaysburg on charges that Altoona police filed after arresting Mangione at the Plank Road McDonald’s in December.

In response to a defense objection and Blair County Judge Jackie Bernard’s request for further documentation of Mangione’s unavailability for a now-canceled Nov. 7 court hearing, District Attorney Pete Weeks followed through by filing a letter Friday in the prothonotary’s office.

Authorized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and bearing the name of U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley and four assistant attorneys, the letter indicates that Mangione will remain in federal custody while awaiting trial in the Manhattan shooting death of U.S. health care executive Brian Thompson.

“Given the substantial federal interest in prosecuting the defendant’s actions … the United States intends to keep custody of the defendant pursuant to the federal writ and arrest warrant that were executed in this case, until the conclusion of the federal prosecution, including sentencing,” the letter states.

The letter also references the potential option for Mangione to engage in Blair County court proceedings via video and/or telephone transmissions, an option that defense attorney Thomas M. Dickey has been contesting.

In her recent order, Bernard indicated that if the district attorney’s office presented further documentation of Mangione’s unavailability, then Mangione’s Blair County charges will remain on hold unless he decides to change his mind on remote participation.

Mangione, who is accused of fleeing New York after the fatal shooting, arrived in Altoona via a bus from Pittsburgh. Altoona police found him at the McDonald’s after being advised that a customer resembled the man wanted in the New York shooting.

Altoona police, who subsequently arrested Mangione, charged him with forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, records tampering, false ID and possessing an instrument of crime. A few days later, he was extradited to address the shooting-related charges in New York.

In Blair County, Dickey has filed pre-trial motions to challenge the charges Altoona police filed and the evidence that was seized. The district attorney’s office is on record with responses indicating that the arrest was lawful.

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