Subway chokehold death: Opening statements in trial of former LI Marine veteran Daniel Penny expected today

Opening statements are scheduled to begin Friday morning in the trial of Daniel Penny, the Long Island Marine veteran charged with killing a homeless man by putting him in a chokehold aboard a New York City subway train last year.

Penny, 26, who is originally from West Islip, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 1, 2023 death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely, a homeless subway performer.

A jury of seven women and five men and four alternate jurors was seated in Manhattan Criminal Court last week to decide Penny's fate in what is expected to be a six weeklong trial.

The encounter — during which Penny, who is white, held Neely, who was Black, in a chokehold for more than six minutes, according to prosecutors — was captured on video by a passerby and sparked protests and fierce debate.

Some decried Penny as a criminal and questioned if race was a factor in authorities' decision not to immediately arrest Penny. Others celebrated him as a hero for coming to the aid of allegedly frightened train passengers.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman held a Manhattan rally in support of Penny. An online fundraiser for Penny’s legal defense raised over $3 million

Neely was eulogized by the Rev. Al Sharpton, a national civil rights activist.

Penny, who had moved to the East Village to study engineering and architecture, has pleaded not guilty and is free on a $100,000 bond. He has said he acted in self-defense and to protect the other train passengers.

On the day of the encounter, Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who authorities have said struggled with mental illness, entered a northbound F train at the Second Avenue station and begged for money and made verbal threats, prosecutors have said.

Penny put Neely in a chokehold from behind less than a minute later at the Broadway-Lafayette station, authorities have said.

"He came on the train threatening people. I put him out," Penny told police in a recorded interrogation.

Neely stopped breathing on the train after being restrained for six minutes, according to prosecutors. He died shortly afterward.

Penny was initially released from police custody. But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged him with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide after a public outcry.

Witnesses told police that Neely was acting "erratically" after he got on the train and that he threw his jacket on the floor of the subway car and began yelling that he wanted a Sprite or a ginger ale.

"He told everyone that he didn’t care what happened today, he didn’t care if he was going to jail," one witness said on police body camera video.

"He literally saved the train," a bystander told police of Penny, according to the body camera video.

Penny’s defense team had tried unsuccessfully to keep the jury from viewing Penny’s statements to police.

Defense lawyer Steven Raiser previously told Newsday that parts of the body camera footage would assist with his client’s defense.

"The judge in his decision did note the importance of these witness statements and their value, while not relevant for a probable cause determination, are extremely valuable in support of a justification defense, which we fully intend to assert on behalf of our client at trial," Raiser said.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.