Marine veteran who fatally choked NYC subway rider Jordan Neely is freed pending trial

1 of 18 |

FILE - A group of several hundred people protest the death of Jordan Neely, Friday, May 5, 2023, at Washington Square Park in New York. Manhattan prosecutors said Thursday, May 11, that they will bring criminal charges against Daniel Penny, the man who used a deadly chokehold on Neely, an unruly passenger, aboard a New York City subway train. The incident stirred outrage and debates about the response to mental illness in the nation’s largest transit system. (AP Photo/Brooke Lansdale, File)

2 of 18 |

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)

3 of 18 |

This undated photo, provided by Mills & Edwards, LLP, in New York, Friday, May 12, 2023, shows Jordan Neely, left, with Carolyn Neely, an aunt. Daniel Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine veteran who used a fatal chokehold on agitated New York City subway passenger Jordan Neely, was freed from custody Friday hours after surrendering to face a manslaughter charge filed nearly two weeks after the encounter. (Courtesy Mills & Edwards, LLP via AP)

4 of 18 |

Daniel Penny, center, is walked by New York Police Department detectives detectives out of the 5th Precinct on Friday, May. 12, 2023 in New York. Manhattan prosecutors announced Thursday they would bring the criminal charge against Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, in the May 1 death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

5 of 18 |

6 of 18 |

7 of 18 |

FILE - People walk past graffiti calling attention to death of Jordan Neely that was painted on the sidewalk at an entrance to Washington Square Park, Friday, May 5, 2023, in New York. Manhattan prosecutors said Thursday, May 11, 2023, that they will bring criminal charges against Daniel Penny, the man who used a deadly chokehold on Neely, an unruly passenger, aboard a New York City subway train. The incident stirred outrage and debates about the response to mental illness in the nation’s largest transit system. (AP Photo/Brooke Lansdale, File)

8 of 18 |

This undated photo, provided by Mills & Edwards, LLP, in New York, Friday, May 12, 2023, shows Jordan Neely. Daniel Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine veteran who used a fatal chokehold on agitated New York City subway passenger Neely, was freed from custody Friday hours after surrendering to face a manslaughter charge filed nearly two weeks after the encounter. (Courtesy Mills & Edwards, LLP via AP)

9 of 18 |

10 of 18 |

Daniel Penny arrives to surrender at the 5th Precinct on Friday, May. 12, 2023 in New York. Manhattan prosecutors announced Thursday they would bring the criminal charge against Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, in the May 1 death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

11 of 18 |

Thomas A. Kenniff, attorney for Daniel Penny, speaks to members of media outside at the 5th Precinct on Friday, May. 12, 2023 in New York. Manhattan prosecutors announced Thursday they would bring the criminal charge against Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, in the May 1 death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

12 of 18 |

New York police officers administer CPR to Jordan Neely, at the scene where a fight was reported on a subway train, in New York, Monday, May 1, 2023. Neeley, suffering an apparent mental health episode aboard a New York City subway died on Monday after being placed in a headlock by a fellow rider, according to police officials and video of the encounter. (Paul Martinka via AP)

13 of 18 |

14 of 18 |

15 of 18 |

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/Jeenah Moon)

16 of 18 |

From right, attorney Donte Mills; Jordan Neely’s father, Andre Zachery; attorney Lennon Edwards; and Neely’s aunt Mildred Mahazu appears at a news conference in New York City on Friday, May 12, 2023. Daniel 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/Ted Shaffrey)

17 of 18 |

Thomas Kenniff , one of Daniel Penny attorneys, enters 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)

18 of 18 |

Daniel Penny’s attorney, Thomas Kenniff, enters 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)

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ

A U.S. Marine veteran who placed an agitated New York City subway passenger in a chokehold, killing him and sparking outrage as bystander video went viral, surrendered Friday on a manslaughter charge filed nearly two weeks after the deadly encounter.

Daniel Penny, 24, was freed pending trial hours after turning himself in at a police station and appearing in court to answer criminal charges in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former subway performer with a history of mental illness. Penny did not enter a plea.

Neely’s death prompted protests, while others embraced Penny as a vigilante hero. His lawyers have said he was acting in self-defense. Lawyers for Neely’s family said Neely wasn’t harming anyone and didn’t deserve to die. An autopsy ruled Neely’s death a homicide due to compression of the neck.

“Jordan Neely should still be alive today,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

A judge authorized Penny’s release on $100,000 bond and ordered him to surrender his passport and not to leave New York without approval. Prosecutors said they are seeking a grand jury indictment. Penny is due back in court on July 17.

Not PARSE.LY: Rail accidents

Pakistani security forces kill 12 insurgents in 2 raids hours apart

Anti-government protesters blame rampant corruption for roof crash that killed 14 people in Serbia

Pakistan suspends railway services in the country’s southwest after deadly train station bombing

Penny didn’t speak to reporters. At a brief arraignment, Penny faced straight ahead, his hands cuffed. He spoke softly, offering one-word answers to Judge Kevin McGrath as his lawyer, Steve Raiser, placed an arm around his shoulder. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said Neely had been making threats and “scaring passengers” when Penny approached him from behind and placed him in a chokehold. Penny “continued to hold Mr. Neely in the chokehold for several minutes,” even after he stopped moving, Steinglass said.

A freelance journalist who recorded Neely struggling to free himself, then lapsing into unconsciousness, said he had been shouting at passengers and begging for money aboard the train but had not gotten physical with anyone. Penny pinned Neely to the floor of the subway car with the help of two other passengers and held him in a chokehold.

Neely’s death has raised an uproar over many issues, including how the city treats people with mental illness, as well as crime, race and vigilantism. Police questioned Penny, who is white, in the aftermath but released him without charges. Neely was Black.

Thomas Kenniff, a lawyer for Penny, said he didn’t mean to harm Neely and is dealing with the situation with the “integrity and honor that is characteristic of who he is and characteristic of his honorable service in the United States Marine Corps.”

Donte Mills, a lawyer for Neely’s family, disputed Penny’s version of events, saying the veteran “acted with indifference. He didn’t care about Jordan, he cared about himself. And we can’t let that stand.”

“Mr. Neely did not attack anyone.” Mills said at a news conference Friday. “He did not touch anyone. He did not hit anyone. But he was choked to death.”

Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, wept as another family lawyer, Lennon Edwards, recounted the last moments before Penny tackled Neely to the ground and put him in a chokehold.

“What did he think would happen?” Mills asked.

Neely, remembered by some commuters for his Michael Jackson impersonations, had been dealing with homelessness and mental illness in recent years, friends said. Neely had been arrested multiple times and had recently pleaded guilty for assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving a subway station in 2021.

Mills said Neely’s outlook changed after his mother was killed by her boyfriend in 2007. Through his struggles, Mills said, Neely found joy in singing, dancing and bringing a smile to other people’s faces.

“No one on that train asked Jordan: ‘What’s wrong, how can I help you?’” Mills said, urging New Yorkers in a similar situation: “Don’t attack. Don’t choke. Don’t kill. Don’t take someone’s life. Don’t take someone’s loved one from them because they’re in a bad place.”

Roger Abrams, a community health representative, said he saw Neely on the subway a week before his death. Neely was disheveled and told people he was hungry and in need of spare change. Abrams said he approached Neely and asked him why he no longer performs.

“I haven’t been feeling well,” Abrams remembered Neely saying.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office waited to file charges in part because prosecutors wanted to learn more about what happened aboard the train in the moments before Penny moved to restrain Neely. The delay helped fuel protests in the city. Some people climbed down to subway tracks, disrupting service and leading to arrests.

Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that Neely’s death shouldn’t have happened.

A second-degree manslaughter conviction in New York requires a jury to find that a person engaged in reckless conduct that created an unjustifiable risk of death, consciously disregarded that risk and acted in a way that grossly deviated from how a reasonable person would act in a similar situation.

___

Associated Press writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

___

On Twitter, follow Jake Offenhartz at twitter.com/jangelooff, Bobby Caina Calvan at twitter.com/BobbyCalvan and Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/