Jordan Neely death: NYC chokehold suspect Daniel Penny gets arraignment date following indictment
Asher Notheis
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Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old former Marine who was indicted on charges of killing homeless man Jordan Neely on a New York City subway, has had his arraignment scheduled for the end of the month.
Penny will appear in front of Judge Maxwell Wiley at the Manhattan Supreme Court to answer one charge of second-degree manslaughter and another charge of criminally negligent homicide on June 28, the borough district attorney’s office announced Thursday. If Penny is convicted, he could face a total of 19 years behind bars, according to the New York Post.
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Penny’s attorneys have stated they are “fully committed” to clearing their client’s name.
“We’re confident that when a trial jury is tasked with weighing the evidence, they will find Daniel Penny’s actions on that train were fully justified,” Steven Raiser, from the law firm Raiser & Kenniff, said in a statement.
Neely, 30, was a homeless black man who was known for being a Michael Jackson impersonator who performed in Times Square. On May 1, he was on a train when he began shouting that he was hungry, thirsty, and had little to live for. He threw trash at other passengers as they became visibly uncomfortable and moved away, according to a freelance journalist aboard the train.
Penny then came up from behind and placed Neely in a chokehold as two unidentified males aided in restraining the homeless man. The three continued to restrain Neely for several minutes until his lifeless body stopped fighting back.
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Penny’s lawyers said in a statement issued a few days after the event that their client was not acting in pursuit of harming Neely, but instead acted to protect himself and others from an erratic man having a mental health episode.
“When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived,” the statement read. “Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”