In a recent development, a New York City judge has rejected a plea to dismiss charges against Daniel Penny, a U.
S. Marine veteran. Penny is facing legal scrutiny for an incident that occurred on a New York City subway in 2023, where he restrained a mentally ill homeless man, Jordan Neely, resulting in the latter's death.
NBC 4 reports that the judge has instructed Penny to reappear in court towards the end of March, with his trial likely to commence in the fall. The 24-year-old veteran has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
The incident in question took place on May 1, 2023, when Penny put Neely in a headlock. The motion presented by Penny's attorneys claimed that Neely's conduct on the train was "insanely threatening."
In June, Penny broke his silence about the incident, asserting that his actions were aimed at "trying to protect passengers." However, law enforcement officials have stated that Penny was not "specifically being threatened by Neely when he intervened" and that Neely was not "threatening anyone in particular."
Penny recounted the threats made by Neely, "The three main threats that he repeated over and over were 'I'm going to kill you,' 'I'm prepared to go to jail for life,' and 'I'm willing to die'," he said.
Describing the situation as "scary," Penny admitted to being "scared for himself," but felt compelled to act considering the presence of women and children on the train. He stated, "I couldn't just sit still."
Addressing allegations about the duration and nature of his restraint, Penny clarified, "Some people say that I was holding onto Mr. Neely for 15 minutes. This is not true. The whole interaction was less than five minutes. People say I was trying to choke him to death, which is also not true. I was trying to restrain him."
Several passengers on the train that day expressed gratitude for Penny's intervention. Witnesses described the incident as "absolutely traumatizing," with Neely reportedly making threats against passengers and screaming that he was going to kill a passenger.
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