Excerpt:
Prosecutors highlighted “about $10,000 — $8,000 in U.S. dollars and then $2,000 in foreign currency that was found on his person,” CNN correspondent Danny Freeman said following the court hearing.
“Also they said that he had a Faraday bag,” which blocks cell signals, a move that prosecutors alleged marked “an indication of criminal sophistication and reason they should hold him on bail,” Freeman continued.
After prosecutors made the claims, Mangione said he would like to “correct two things.”
“I don’t know where any of that money came from — I’m not sure if it was planted. And also, that bag was waterproof, so I don’t know about criminal sophistication,” the suspect said in a statement that suggested police framed him.
I think they’re saying it definitely was Mangione who was recorded at the hotel, which if he was checking in/out is pretty easy to prove. From there they lost track of him because they didn’t know his route or he just didn’t show up on any other cameras.
I agree that the wording is likely intentional to imply guilt, but is loose enough that they could claim that isn’t what they were doing.