Just before Daniel Penny placed Jordan Neely in a chokehold following Neely’s alleged threats against passengers, Neely raised his fists in the air, a witness testified on Thursday.
Neely died following the chokehold, and Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter or up to 4 years if he’s convicted on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
On Thursday, 18-year-old Moriela Sanchez testified that Neely, 30, began threatening passengers as soon as he entered the New York City subway car on May 1, 2023, Fox News reported.
“If no one gives him water or food, he’s gonna start putting hands on people,” Sanchez testified. “He was going to start attacking.”
Sanchez explained that Neely was shouting at everyone in the car, but he did not touch anyone.
“After that, Penny started putting his hands around his neck…
