Subway chokehold trial: Daniel Penny's mother, other character witnesses testify for the defense on Tuesday
Daniel Penny arrives in Manhattan Criminal Court after break in New York on Monday. Credit: AP/Yuki Iwamura
Daniel Penny’s mother took the stand Tuesday morning, choking up briefly as she testified about her son’s upbringing, his plan for the future and the impact the parents' divorce had on the family.
Gina Maria Flaim-Penny, who works as a teaching assistant for special needs students, took the stand as a character witness in the second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide case against her son for the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, 30, in an F train subway car in SoHo last year.
The mother of four said that Daniel Penny grew up loving the water and the beach, a straight-A student and a star lacrosse player.
"We were always a very close family, a lot of holidays and celebrations," she said. "We were always surrounded by family and friends.
The tight-knit family, three girls and one boy, grew up in West Islip, spending days and nights at nearby Gilgo Beach.
"He loved playing the bass, he loved music, he was a great lacrosse player, surfing, he loved the water," Flaim-Penny said.
Penny spent a year playing standup bass for the Long Island String Orchestra and two years playing for the Suffolk County Orchestra, she said.
When divorce fractured the family, all her children struggled, Flaim-Penny said.
"I was difficult on all my kids not just Danny, we went to family counseling together," she said and her son went to counseling on his own. "They stayed very close and they leaned on each other. He was very close to his sister Jackie who is a year apart."
As Penny reached his senior year in West Islip High School, he had hopes of attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, a highly selective and prestigious posting.
"The Naval Academy was a dream of his," his mother said. "He thought with lacrosse and his good grades that he would get in, but it’s very selective and he didn’t get in."
When he didn’t get in, Penny enlisted in the Marine Corps, she said.
"As a mother I was nervous, I knew he was capable, but Danny has a very soft side to him," Flaim-Penny said.
They kept in touch, she said, writing letters and communicating through apps during his four-year stint.
Three other character witnesses also took the stand on Tuesday on Penny’s behalf.
Two fellow Marines told the jury about serving with Penny in the corps.
Nolan Drylie, who served with Penny in Okinawa, flew up from his farm in Alabama, courtesy of the defense fund.
He said that they were quarantined together during the pandemic.
"It was pretty miserable," he said. Despite the trying conditions of three to four troops to a room, sheltering in place for weeks on end, no one complained about Penny.
Additionally, the same unit served a relief effort during Hurricane Florence in North Carolina for which Penny received a humanitarian service award.
Manhattan prosecutor Dafna Yoran, during a brief cross-examination, questioned Drylie about several Facebook posts to impeach his credibility.
Drylie organized a motorcycle ride to New York City after Penny’s indictment and said on the social media network that "violence begets violence."
There was no testimony regarding if the motorcycle run happened.
Penny’s platoon leader Nathaniel Dunchie spoke of Penny’s reliability.
"When I gave him a task, I knew it was going to be done right," he said.
Dunchie agreed with defense lawyer Thomas Kenniff that Penny was generally honest, compassionate and empathetic.
After the Marine Corps, his mother said that Penny traveled for a while and then decided to enroll in the New York City College of Technology to study architecture.
"I was very thrilled," Flaim-Penny said. "I live in Queens and I work for the New York City education system so I would get to see him a lot."
She said that he used the GI Bill to pay for college, settling in the East Village. He taught swimming at a local gym and worked in a restaurant at night to pay his rent.
The mother said that she had raised Penny will certain values.
"Honest, humility, kindness, treat[ing] others equally as you would like to be treated," she said when asked what those values were.
Her voice cracked when Kenniff asked if her son was honest, empathetic and compassionate and if she loved him.
"Yes, of course," she said.
Testimony will continue Tuesday afternoon.
Daniel Penny’s mother took the stand Tuesday morning, choking up briefly as she testified about her son’s upbringing, his plan for the future and the impact the parents' divorce had on the family.
Gina Maria Flaim-Penny, who works as a teaching assistant for special needs students, took the stand as a character witness in the second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide case against her son for the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, 30, in an F train subway car in SoHo last year.
The mother of four said that Daniel Penny grew up loving the water and the beach, a straight-A student and a star lacrosse player.
"We were always a very close family, a lot of holidays and celebrations," she said. "We were always surrounded by family and friends.
The tight-knit family, three girls and one boy, grew up in West Islip, spending days and nights at nearby Gilgo Beach.
"He loved playing the bass, he loved music, he was a great lacrosse player, surfing, he loved the water," Flaim-Penny said.
Penny spent a year playing standup bass for the Long Island String Orchestra and two years playing for the Suffolk County Orchestra, she said.
When divorce fractured the family, all her children struggled, Flaim-Penny said.
"I was difficult on all my kids not just Danny, we went to family counseling together," she said and her son went to counseling on his own. "They stayed very close and they leaned on each other. He was very close to his sister Jackie who is a year apart."
As Penny reached his senior year in West Islip High School, he had hopes of attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, a highly selective and prestigious posting.
"The Naval Academy was a dream of his," his mother said. "He thought with lacrosse and his good grades that he would get in, but it’s very selective and he didn’t get in."
When he didn’t get in, Penny enlisted in the Marine Corps, she said.
"As a mother I was nervous, I knew he was capable, but Danny has a very soft side to him," Flaim-Penny said.
They kept in touch, she said, writing letters and communicating through apps during his four-year stint.
Three other character witnesses also took the stand on Tuesday on Penny’s behalf.
Two fellow Marines told the jury about serving with Penny in the corps.
Nolan Drylie, who served with Penny in Okinawa, flew up from his farm in Alabama, courtesy of the defense fund.
He said that they were quarantined together during the pandemic.
"It was pretty miserable," he said. Despite the trying conditions of three to four troops to a room, sheltering in place for weeks on end, no one complained about Penny.
Additionally, the same unit served a relief effort during Hurricane Florence in North Carolina for which Penny received a humanitarian service award.
Manhattan prosecutor Dafna Yoran, during a brief cross-examination, questioned Drylie about several Facebook posts to impeach his credibility.
Drylie organized a motorcycle ride to New York City after Penny’s indictment and said on the social media network that "violence begets violence."
There was no testimony regarding if the motorcycle run happened.
Penny’s platoon leader Nathaniel Dunchie spoke of Penny’s reliability.
"When I gave him a task, I knew it was going to be done right," he said.
Dunchie agreed with defense lawyer Thomas Kenniff that Penny was generally honest, compassionate and empathetic.
After the Marine Corps, his mother said that Penny traveled for a while and then decided to enroll in the New York City College of Technology to study architecture.
"I was very thrilled," Flaim-Penny said. "I live in Queens and I work for the New York City education system so I would get to see him a lot."
She said that he used the GI Bill to pay for college, settling in the East Village. He taught swimming at a local gym and worked in a restaurant at night to pay his rent.
The mother said that she had raised Penny will certain values.
"Honest, humility, kindness, treat[ing] others equally as you would like to be treated," she said when asked what those values were.
Her voice cracked when Kenniff asked if her son was honest, empathetic and compassionate and if she loved him.
"Yes, of course," she said.
Testimony will continue Tuesday afternoon.
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