On Friday, the former Marine who held Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a New York City Metro train earlier this month is expected to turn himself in to face charges. Neely passed suddenly as a result of the incident.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office decided to charge 24-year-old Daniel Penny, according to NBC 4 New York.
ABC Correspondent CeFaan Kim announced on Twitter that Penny would be charged with manslaughter in the second degree.
Wednesday of last week, the New York City medical examiner determined that Neely perished from a “chokehold” and classified the incident as a “homicide,” though criminal proceedings would be required to establish intent or responsibility.
Penny’s legal representatives released a statement late in the week claiming that their client “was involved in a tragic incident on the NYC Subway, which ended in the death of Jordan Neely.”
The following statement was issued by Raiser and Kenniff, P.C. continued:
We would first like to express, on behalf of Daniel Penny, our condolences to those close to Mr. Neely. Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness. 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. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.
For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.
According to freelance writer Juan Alberto Vazquez and a report from The New York Post, witnesses asserted that Neely engaged in an aggressive tirade on the train on Monday afternoon, acting erratically and screaming that he did not care if he went to prison. Penny was able to subdue Neely with the help of at least one other passenger.
In the previous decade, the New York Police Department had taken Neely, age 30, into custody 42 times.
Neely was most recently detained in November 2021 on suspicion of felony assault after allegedly “slapping a 67-year-old female stranger in the face,” as reported by the New York Daily News. According to reports, the woman sustained severe injuries in the attack, and Neely spent more than a year in prison.
Based on a witness testimony, the New York Post reported on the incident that led to Neely’s demise.
The 24-year-old passenger stepped in after the vagrant, identified by sources as Jordan Neely, 30, began going on an aggressive rant on a northbound F train Monday afternoon, according to police and a witness who took the video.
“He starts to make a speech,” freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez said in Spanish during an interview Tuesday, referring to the disturbed man.
“He started screaming in an aggressive manner,” Vazquez told The Post. “He said he had no food, he had no drink, that he was tired and doesn’t care if he goes to jail. He started screaming all these things, took off his jacket, a black jacket that he had, and threw it on the ground.”
That’s when he said the straphanger came up behind Neely and took him to the ground in a chokehold — keeping him there for some 15 minutes, Vazquez said.