CV NEWS FEED // Former US Marine Sergeant Daniel Penny, who is charged with fatally strangling Jordan Neely, a homeless man, during a recent subway altercation in New York City, has pleaded not guilty.
Penny, 24, was indicted on counts of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Manhattan on June 28.
The charges against Penny came after he protected fellow passengers by putting a threatening homeless man in a chokehold on May 1. The man, 30-year-old Jordan Neely, often performed in the subway as Michael Jackson and had an extensive criminal record that included previous assaults on subway passengers, such as punching a 67-year-old woman in the face two years ago. Neely had a history of mental instability since his mother’s murder when he was a teenager.
According to passengers, Neely entered the subway car and began panhandling and screaming at them. Neely also shouted that he was prepared to kill someone and go to jail again or even take a bullet, leaving passengers uncomfortable and scared.
“If he had carried out his threats, he would have killed somebody,” Penny said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Penny intervened and put Neely in a chokehold. With the help of another passenger, Penny dragged Neely to the floor and maintained the chokehold for several minutes. Neely lost consciousness while in the chokehold, and later passed away at the hospital. The city’s medical examiner later declared the incident “death by compression of neck” (strangling).
Penny said that he did not intend to kill Neely; his only intent was to keep himself and the other passengers safe.
Penny was arrested a week later. At a previous hearing, he was released on $100,000 bail; he was granted the same bail conditions for his June 28 arraignment.
Neely’s death has drawn national attention, with politicians and influencers supporting different sides. Protesters view Neely’s death as a lynching, since Neely was black, and a similar scenario to the George Floyd case. Conservatives like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican politicians, however, view Penny as a hero. Others call Penny’s indictment politically motivated. Currently, Penny’s supporters have raised over $3 million in a fund to be used for his legal fees.
Penny was told to return to court for a pretrial hearing on October 25.
