A Marine veteran who put a man in a chokehold last week after he was threatened on a New York City subway has surrendered to police after he was charged with the man’s death Thursday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced charges against Daniel Penny on Thursday afternoon.
Penny, 24, was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely.
Insider reported the young man surrendered at the New York Police Department’s 5th Precinct Friday morning in lower Manhattan.
He faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted.
Penny was questioned by police last week after the incident that left Neely dead but no charges were filed.
A coroner later ruled the death was a homicide due to “compression of neck.”
Neely reportedly boarded a train on May 1 and threatened passengers and otherwise acted erratically.
Three men, including Penny, worked together to subdue the mentally ill man who had been arrested multiple times for allegedly assaulting women in unprovoked attacks.
Video of Penny putting Neely in a chokehold went viral online after the latter died.
Race activists have accused the former Marine, who is white, of targeting Neely for being a black man.
House Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley both portrayed the 24-year-old as a killer on social media.
Penny told police he never intended to harm Neely and only wanted to protect himself and others.
Neely’s family released a statement last week that called for Penny to be imprisoned.
Penny had released a statement through an attorney that called on New York City to do something in response to crime and the mentally ill.
“It is clear he is the one who acted with indifference, both at the time he killed Jordan and now in his first public message,” the family said. “He never attempted to help him at all. In short, his actions on the train, and now his words, show why he needs to be in prison.”
New York City has seen its share of violence on subways in recent years. Simultaneously, Bragg’s office has been criticized for refusing to put violent people behind bars.
Neely had been arrested more than 40 times and was wanted on a warrant for assault at the time of his death.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
