Former Marine Expected to Be Charged In Jordan Neely Subway Chokehold Death: DA

The 24-year-old former Marine who placed a homeless man in a chokehold on a New York City subway train last week, leading to his death, is expected to be criminally charged as soon as Friday, prosecutors said.

“We can confirm that Daniel Penny will be arrested on a charge of manslaughter in the second degree, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told The Messenger.

"We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow.”

Jordan Neely died on May 1 when Daniel Penny put him in a chokehold aboard a subway train in Manhattan.

The 30-year-old Neely was a former Michael Jackson impersonator who was well-known to city outreach workers who try to help unhoused people experiencing mental illness.

A freelance journalist who recorded video of Neely's final minutes said Neely had been screaming at other passengers but hadn’t attacked anyone when Penny pulled him to the floor and pinned him.

The video shows two other subway riders helping to hold Neely down. Neely lost consciousness during the struggle and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The medical examiner’s office ruled that Neely died in a homicide caused by compression of the neck but said the question of criminal culpability would be up to the legal system. DA Bragg has promised a thorough investigation.

Penny, 24, said through his lawyers last week that he was only protecting himself after Neely threatened him and other passengers.

“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” said his lawyers, Thomas Kenniff and Steven Raiser.

Protests have erupted in the days since Neely's death, with demonstrators demanding Penny's arrest.

-- with Associated Press