Global Courant 2023-05-15 00:30:42
Daniel Penny, a New York City resident and Marine veteran, is being charged with the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless person on the subway, which has sparked national attention.
Daniel Penny, 24, was indicted in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday and charged with a second-degree manslaughter charge over Neely’s death.
Penny joined the Marines in 2017 and served four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is also a student, according to his lawyers.
He reached the rank of sergeant and formerly served at Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, according to U.S. Marine Corps records reported by The Independent.
MARINE VETERAN ACCUSED IN NYC SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD DEATH IDENTIFIED BY HIS LAWYER
Daniel Penny leaves the NYPD’s Fifth Precinct on Friday, May 12, 2023. Penny faces charges in connection with the death of subway driver Jordan Neely. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
Friends and family described Penny’s upbringing on Long Island in the Big Apple suburbs and defended him amid the allegations and a viral video of Penny holding Neely around the neck on the floor of a subway train while two other passengers also held Neely in kept under control.
The Marine veteran grew up in a military family of three sisters in a three-bedroom home in West Islip with their parents before they divorced, according to the New York Post.
“It’s disgusting. Here’s a young man who served our country. What about the other two gentlemen on the subway who helped him (restrain Neely)? They haven’t even been given a name,” Justine Baldwin told me. one of Penny’s cousins, on the Na.
Devin Marino, a friend of Penny’s from grade school through high school, told the outlet, “Danny was always fun and goofy and never hurt anyone.”
“He was always super inclusive,” he added.
NYC NAVY VETERAN ACCUSED FOR DEATH OF MAN MAKING THREATS AND SCARYING PASSENGERS: Prosecutors
Police say Marine veteran Daniel Penny, right, and Jordan Neely, left, fatally strangled on a NYC subway after the homeless man threatened passengers. (Mills & Edwards | All Trails)
A video recorded by freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez shows Penny putting Neely in a stranglehold on May 1. He reportedly held the homeless man that way for several minutes before Neely’s body went limp.
Lawyers said Penny put Neely in a chokehold to protect herself and others after Neely threatened individuals at the Broadway-Lafayette subway station.
Neely had a history of violent assaults and struggled with mental illness and a drug addiction, according to court records and reports.
The incident that happened on the subway between Penny and Neely that led to Neely’s death was ruled a murder by the medical examiner. Protests broke out city-wide in support of Neely, resulting in multiple arrests outside the subway station on a Monday night a week later.
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This screenshot from a bystander video shows Jordan Neely tied up in a chokehold on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York / Juan Alberto Vazquez via Storyful)
Some supporters have joined the Marine veteran and donated to a campaign fund set up by his attorneys, Thomas Kenniff and Steven Kaiser.
The fundraiser started on a free christian fundraising sitewhich reached more than $1.5 million on Sunday morning and also received support from politicians, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Fox News’ Rebecca Rosenberg, Marta Dhanis, and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Emily Robertson is a Fox News digital production assistant.
