Marine Daniel Penny is facing an indictment for the killing of New York street performer, Jordan Neely, following a confrontation last month on a Manhattan subway.
A grand jury in Manhattan handed down the indictment on Wednesday, but the actual charges haven’t been disclosed, the New York Post reports. The charges are expected to be unsealed at an upcoming arraignment.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Penny was arrested last month on second-degree murder charges after he put Neely in a chokehold, resulting in Neely’s death. According to Penny’s lawyers, Neely was screaming and threatening others on May 1, when Penny put him in a chokehold to subdue him.
Penny, who’s currently out on bail, reportedly claimed he didn’t intend to kill Neely, but instead, tried to protect himself and others.
“There’s a common misconception that Marines don’t get scared. We’re actually taught one of our core values is courage, and courage is not the absence of fear but how you handle fear,” Penny later said.
“I was scared for myself but I looked around there was women and children, he was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn’t sit still.”
Penny’s lawyers released videos taken by onlookers of the incident, which showed the defendant placing his arm around Neely’s neck after the victim allegedly threatened to kill people. Penny reportedly had Neely in a chokehold for around three minutes.
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The incident set off days of protest as family members announced that Neely was a street performer who suffered from a mental illness following a relative’s murder in 2007. Neely’s family slammed police for failing to help him and pushed for murder charges against Penny.
Penny’s lawyers released a statement following Neely’s death, stating that Penny offers condolences to the victim’s family. Penny added that he was not a “white supremacist” and that the altercation had nothing to do with race,” Fox News Digital reports.
“I mean, it’s, it’s a little bit comical. Everybody who’s ever met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures. You can tell by my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened,” Penny told the Post.
Attorneys representing Neely’s family responded by calling for a murder charge, not a hate crime charge. Lawyer Donte Mills said the main concern should be why Penny didn’t let Neely go after passengers were screaming for him to stop.
“We never called him a white supremacist, we called him a killer,” Mill said.
“We don’t care how many vacations he’s been on. We want to know why he didn’t let go of that chokehold until Jordan was dead. Next time ask him why he didn’t let go when the passengers he was supposedly protecting were screaming ‘let him go, you’re going to kill him and get a murder charge.'”
“Your planned drive through Africa can’t explain why you thought you had the right to take someone’s life even if they were houseless and had mental illness.”
Neely reportedly had over 40 previous arrests, along with an active warrant at the time for felony assault. His lawyers and activists say his past arrests offer no justification for killing him.
Penny’s next court date is scheduled for July 17. Check back for updates.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to a previous episode on the case below.
[Feature Photo: Daniel Penny leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, May 12, 2023, in New York. Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, appeared in court hours after turning himself in at a police station after prosecutors said they were charging him in connection with the May 1 death of Jordan Neely. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)]
