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Daniel Penny, a Long Island resident, will be arrested Friday, May 12, on a charge of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Jordan Neely, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirmed to Daily Voice.
“We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow,” the agency said in a statement.
Neely, a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator who was homeless but hails from Bayonne, died Monday, May 1, after Penny placed him in a chokehold aboard a Manhattan subway. Multiple witnesses told police that Neely had been shouting about being hungry and not wanting to live.
Another passenger, Juan Alberto Vazquez, filmed the incident and told NBC News that Neely was in the chokehold for approximately 15 minutes.
An NYPD spokesperson told the outlet that Neely and Penny, age 24, got into an argument that “escalated into a physical altercation.”
The New York City medical examiner’s office later ruled the death a homicide.
Video of the incident has since gone viral on social media, sparking nationwide outrage and protests over the decision to not arrest Penny immediately afterward.
Penny is a 2016 graduate of West Islip High School, where he played varsity lacrosse.
He later served in the Marine Corps from 2017 to 2021, and was assigned as a rifleman to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, NBC News reports.
Writing about Neely’s death on a GoFundMe page to help his family with memorial expenses, his aunt Carolyn Neely recounted how Neely’s mother was murdered in 2007.
“It’s been rough for him and all of us,” she said. “We just want justice for him, please give what you can with your heart. He has so many fans, he will always be loved and remembered.”
Funeral services for Neely are planned for 11 a.m. Friday, May 19, at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem.
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