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Daniel Penny faces up to 15 years on 2nd-degree manslaughter charge in chokehold death of Jordan Neely
A grand jury has indicted former Marine Daniel Penny for the chokehold killing of homeless man Jordan Neely during a subway confrontation last month, sources have told The Post — even as Penny’s attorneys vowed to “aggressively defend” their client in court.
The Wednesday decision — made by a group of jurors sitting in Manhattan — arrives weeks after Neely’s caught-on-camera death sparked a national firestorm over Penny’s actions and intense scrutiny of the floundering mental health system that failed to help his victim.
Penny, 24, now faces one charge of second-degree manslaughter and another charge of criminally negligent homicide.
The former could put him in state prison for up to 15 years; the second could lead to another four years behind bars.
Penny’s attorneys said they were fully committed to clearing his name.
“While we respect the decision of the grand jury to move this case forward to trial, it should be noted that the standard of proof in a grand jury is very low and there has been no finding of wrongdoing,” Steven Raiser, of the law firm Raiser & Kenniff, said in a statement.
“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.”
Right now, the former infantry squad leader is free on $100,000 bail.
He first surrendered himself to cops on May 12 — nearly two weeks after he laced his arms around Neely’s neck during a chaotic confrontation on an F train in Manhattan.
Eyewitnesses say Neely — who had a long history of mental illness and scores of run-ins with New York’s Finest — was yelling at other straphangers, threatening them and throwing trash around.
In a series of videos released Sunday, Penny said he felt an obligation to step in.
“If [Neely] had carried out his threats, he would have killed somebody,” Penny said.
Penny seized him from behind with a common grappling technique called a rear naked choke, and dropped to the ground as he and two other men tried to restrain the struggling 30-year-old.
A freelance journalist who happened to be on the subway recorded the tail end of the fatal encounter, and the footage sparked immediate outrage after its release.
Penny said he wasn’t trying to kill Neely when he grabbed him — but he couldn’t sit around while Neely ranted.
“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,” he 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.”
The city medical examiner later ruled Neely’s death a homicide, and said the troubled former street performer died from “compression of the neck.”
After his death, Neely’s family blamed authorities for not making sure he got the care he needed. And they’ve called for Penny to face murder charges.
During a fiery eulogy last month, the Rev. Al Sharpton told a packed church that “when they choked Jordan, they put their arms around all of us.”
Sharpton also criticized authorities’ initial decision to release Penny in the wake of the killing, asking, “Who thought it was alright for this man to choke a brother to death and go home to see his family?”
After the indictment, Sharpton released another statement saying the grand jury “saw right through [Penny’s] false narrative by voting to move this case forward.”
“This was a clear-cut case of vigilantism that has no place in our society, which is why I spoke against it at Jordan’s funeral,” Sharpton said.
“While [the grand jury] should be saluted for this righteous step, we wish the charge would have reflected what this really was: murder,” Sharpton continued, adding that his National Action Network would “continue to monitor this case to ensure this killer is held accountable and there is justice for Jordan.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office declined to comment.
When reached by The Post Wednesday, the former Marine’s cousin said his lawyers have told the family not to make any further comments about the case.
“We’re just letting them handle it from now on, thank you,” Justine Baldwin said.
Penny’s arraignment has not yet been set.
