NEW YORK (NewsNation) — A New York judge on Wednesday set an Oct. 8 trial date for Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran indicted in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway last year.
The judge said the trial will take between four and six weeks. Another hearing was set for Sept. 17 for arguments on a motion to suppress evidence.
Penny has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection to Neely’s death.
A judge previously rejected Penny’s request to have his manslaughter charge thrown out. If convicted, Penny faces up to 20 years in prison.
On May 1, the New York Police Department reported, Neely boarded a train in Manhattan and began acting erratically. Penny claims Neely was angry, talking to himself and threatening passengers, prompting him to intervene to help and restrain Neeley.
Cellphone footage of the encounter shows Penny putting Neely in a chokehold and holding him down until he stops moving and breathing.
When officers arrived, they reported Neely was unconscious. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. A medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide due to “compression of neck.”
Meanwhile, subway crime is up 13% so far this year, marked by frequent stabbings, shootings, and fights. Four deaths have occurred in the subway system.
The problem is so severe that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to help provide security in the subway due to escalating violence.
Last week, a fight between two men on a subway train turned deadly as one man was shot while passengers sought shelter. The shooter has not been charged as investigators cite cellphone footage supporting self-defense.
Penny’s lawyers say he should be given the same consideration because the cases are similar.