ALTOONA, Pa. — Brian Detwiler does not miss the police presence that was camped out at a McDonald’s in his town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, after Towson-native Luigi Mangione was found there and arrested in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione was recognized by one of the restaurant’s employees Dec. 9, and the small town — population just over 40,000 — quickly became the center of national headlines. Detwiler, like many other local residents, said he is ready to move on from the crime that has polarized the nation.

“It was a big deal that he was here,” said Detwiler, who owns Mansion Donut Company in downtown Altoona.

The employees at the McDonald’s on East Plank Road are still on alert. While one person confirmed to The Baltimore Sun that the location was the site of Mangione’s arrest, the person said the parent company had prohibited employees from speaking to the media.

There was a reported $60,000 reward from the FBI and the Crime Stoppers program for information leading to Mangione’s arrest. Galen Wilson, a customer at Triangle Barbershop on 12th Avenue, wondered if the McDonald’s employee who alerted police will ever be able to obtain the reward money. Mangione has to be convicted before the tipster is able to collect.

Mangione, a graduate of Gilman School and the University of Pennsylvania, was formally indicted Tuesday by a New York grand jury and charged with murder as an act of terrorism, among other crimes, in the Dec. 4 killing of Thompson, 50.

Mangione, who grew up in Maryland and graduated in 2016 as the Gilman School’s valedictorian, is accused of carefully planning Thompson’s murder — traveling to New York to find him, carrying a gun with a silencer to carry out the killing, and developing a document that chronicles his disdain for the insurance industry, which law enforcement said they found on him at the time of his arrest.

Mangione is still being held in the Altoona area. He has been charged with gun and forgery offenses in Pennsylvania. On Thursday, he is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on those charges at 8:30 a.m., followed by a hearing on his potential extradition to New York at 9 a.m. at the nearby Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.

Blair County court officials are expecting a huge crowd for the proceedings.

“With an expectation of an increase of law enforcement, media and the public to the area, we are taking the listed precautions to ensure the safety of everyone,” the Blair County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “We respectfully request and thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we navigate through the scheduled proceedings.”

There are multiple reports saying Mangione will waive extradition and could return to New York as soon as Thursday.

Some residents in Altoona said they had problems with how Mangione has become a folk hero among some of those frustrated by the health insurance industry.

“There are these people online that say there should be more people like him … C’mon, that’s crazy,” said resident Stephen Powell, who was walking down 13th Avenue on the cold, rainy Wednesday.

“Looking online, people are split whether they think he is a hero or a killer,” said Detwiler, the donut shop owner. “I get it, but there is a right way to express your frustration, and take another human’s life is not it.”

Bill Herr, who works at Triangle Barbershop on 12th Avenue, said he has Mangione fatigue. He is ready for the town to get back to normalcy.

“I’m just tired of talking about it,” Herr said.

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