Marine veteran Daniel Penny, 24, surrendered himself to the NYPD this morning to face a second-degree manslaughter charge for the chokehold death of Jordan Neely that occurred on an NYC subway.
On May 1, a former Marine put homeless man Jordan Neely, who had a record of 40 prior arrests including violent attacks, in a chokehold after he was verbally threatening and intimidating passengers on the F train in Manhattan.
The Marine, who some labeled a killer and some labeled a hero, was soon identified as decorated Sergeant Daniel Penny.
After handing himself in to the NYPD, he is set to go to Manhattan Criminal Court and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Last night, Penny’s attorneys released a statement saying that he acted in self-defense to protect himself and the other subway passengers. They added that they felt confident he would be absolved of any wrongdoing after all the facts have been presented.
Passengers on the train were fearing for their safety and Penny stepped in to protect them without the intent of killing Neely.
One witness, a 66-year-old female, spoke to the New York Post last night and shared her perspective on Penny’s actions.
The anonymous woman said that there are other people who took videos of the incident, including Neely’s actions that prompted Penny to step in, and she believes Penny will be found innocent of the charges brought against him.
“So I believe that those videos are going to come forward, maybe people will do it anonymously,” said the witness. “I hope he has a great lawyer, and I’m praying for him. And I pray that he gets treated fairly, I really do.”
“Because after all of this ensued I went back and made sure that I said ‘thank you’ to him,” she added.
The woman also reiterated what other witnesses reported about Neely’s actions prior to the chokehold, saying that he was making serious threats against the other passengers, including that he would kill someone and was not afraid to go to jail for his actions.
“This gentleman, Mr. Penny, did not stand up,” the witness added. “Did not engage with the gentleman. He said not a word. It was all Mr. Neely that was… threatening the passengers. If he did not get what he wants.”
