Jordan Neely Put In 6-Min Chokehold, Ex-Marine Knew Risks: Prosecutor

NEW YORK, NY - Former Marine Daniel Penny should’ve known his actions could kill Jordan Neely given Penny's military training and desperate pleas from straphangers, Manhattan prosecutors said in a Wednesday court filing defending the decision to bring manslaughter charges against the accused subway killer.

Penny, 24, reportedly had his hands around Neely’s neck for six minutes, prosecutors noted, adding the the chokehold lasted another 51 seconds after Neely, 30, stopped “all purposeful movement."

“The notion that death is not a foreseeable consequence of squeezing someone’s neck for six minutes is beyond the pale,” Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Joshua Steinglass wrote, adding that the evidence gathered in the case points to Penny acting “both recklessly and with criminal negligence” and ultimately “caused Mr. Neely’s death."

Steinglass noted Penny was trained in dangerous chokehold techniques during his military training, with Penny’s own trainer testifying that “students are specifically cautioned during training that a choke can be fatal to the person being held,” per the filing.

“This training helps support the notion that the defendant was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur as a result of his prolonged use of a chokehold,” Steinglass added.

Neely boarded the F train at the Second Avenue subway station on May 1 about 2:30 p.m., witnesses told police. While witness accounts vary (some witnesses report Neely threatened to hurt people on the train, others report no such threats), prosecutors say no witnesses reported Neely coming into physical contact with anyone before he was grabbed by Penny.

“For me, it was like another day typically in New York,” one witness said.

“I’m from New York and I’ve been riding subways, buses all my life," another said. "I personally didn’t feel threatened by it.”

“Whatever the nature of Mr. Neely’s words and actions, his arguable provocation spanned considerably less than thirty seconds,” Steinglass said.

Speaking about Penny's six-minute chokehold, one witness said the “nature and duration of the hold verged on overkill." Another straphanger urged Penny to let go of Neely, warning that “if you don’t let him go now, you’re going to kill him,” per the filing.

A medical examiner later told the grand jury Neely had scrapes and bruises indicative of neck trauma, as well as bleeding or hemorrhages in some of his neck muscles that were consistent with “a significant amount of force applied to his neck.”

Neely was pronounced dead about an hour later at Lenox Health Greenwich Village Hospital. The cause of death, according to the medical examiner and death certificate, was “compression of neck (chokehold),” prosecutors wrote.

Meanwhile, Penny was voluntarily interviewed by police at Manhattan’s Fifth Precinct after the incident, noting Neely “was talking gibberish, you know, but … I don’t know. These guys are pushing people in front of trains and stuff,” “wasn’t really paying attention” and was “just a crackhead.”

Penny was arrested nearly two weeks following Neely's death after a video of the struggle went viral and sparked national outrage. Penny has since pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. His defense team has pushed to dismiss the case, alleging Neely was "insanely threatening" aboard the F train.

"It is certainly true that several of the passengers testified that they were fearful," Steinglass added. "Omitted from the defense submission, however, are the accounts that undermine the notion of rampant and universal panic."

Penny’s attorneys told the New York Post that the team would reply in an upcoming court filing. A request for comment to Patch was not immediately returned.