Daniel Penny Surrenders to Authorities for Fatally Choking Jordan Neely in Subway

24-year-old former marine Daniel Penny has surrendered himself to police 11 days after he strangled a homeless man to death on the NYC subway. He was arrested and is being charged with second-degree manslaughter.

On May 1, Penny put 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a subway floor for about 15 minutes. Neely died from “compression of neck (chokehold).” It was reported by bystanders that Neely was behaving erratically on the train before the altercation that led to his death occurred. An unidentified witness shared her account of the events that day, saying that Neely was threatening passengers on the train. According to the woman, “He said, ‘I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet, I’ll go to jail’ because he would kill people on the train. He said, ‘I would kill a motherf—er. I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet. I’ll go to jail.’”

Arrest of Daniel Penny

Penny arrived at the 5th Precinct in Lower Manhattan Friday morning at 8 AM in a black SUV. Penny ignored all questions from the press. The man surrendered himself to law officials less than 24 hours after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced that charges against Penny would be pursued.

Thomas Kennif, Penny’s lawyer, spoke out about his client’s choice to turn himself in, saying, “This morning, Daniel Penny surrendered at the 5th Precinct at the request of the New York County District Attorney’s Office. He did so voluntarily and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation.”

Penny will be arraigned this afternoon. A manslaughter charge can carry up to 15 years in prison. Penny’s legal team says they believe he will be absolved of all charges. The people of NYC have been in an uproar over the fatal chokehold, demanding that legal action be taken against Penny. While Neely has a lengthy criminal record, he was suffering from mental illness including schizophrenia, PTSD, and depression, and many believe there was no need for violent action to be taken against him.

According to Neely’s aunt, Carolyn Neely, his mental health deteriorated after his mother was murdered in 2007. She told the New York Post, “The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system.”

READ MORE: Daniel Penny to be Charged With Manslaughter in The Chokehold Killing of Jordan Neely