Subway passenger thankful ex-Marine Penny stopped homeless man’s ‘satanic’ threats

More subway passengers testified Thursday in the manslaughter trial against Daniel Penny, including a woman who said she was relieved the former Marine stepped in to restrain Jordan Neely with a chokehold last year because the homeless man’s “satanic” rant made her fear for her life.

Passenger Caedryn Schrunk said she thought she might die when Neely, 30, entered the Manhattan subway car in May 2023 and began shouting “Kill me, lock me up.”

Soon after, Mr. Penny, 26, jumped up and placed Neely in a chokehold that lasted nearly six minutes. Neely later died in what New York City medical examiners said was due to compression of the neck.

Mr. Penny could spend up to 15 years behind bars if found guilty.

“In that moment when Mr. Penny took him down, I did have a sense of relief that the threat was gone,” Ms. Schrunk said when questioned by defense lawyers, according to the New York Post.

Mr. Penny’s defense team has argued from the outset that their client wasn’t applying enough pressure to kill Neely, and that Neely had high levels of synthetic cannabinoid K2 in his body at the time.

But other witnesses, such as 18-year-old Moriela Sanchez, said it looked as if Mr. Penny was trying to hurt Neely by gripping his neck too tightly.

Mr. Penny’s defense attorneys said Ms. Sanchez’s testimony contradicted her prior grand jury testimony. Back then, she said Mr. Penny was “trying to protect other people.”

Ms. Sanchez’s 911 played in court also captured her saying that Neely was “trying to attack everybody.”

Witness Johnny Grima said he wasn’t fond of how Mr. Penny behaved at the scene.

Mr. Grima said he was riding the same train, but in a different car than the one where the fatal encounter took place.

Once the train stopped, he walked over toward the troubled car and tried to pour water on a limp Neely’s head. That’s when he said Mr. Penny told the witness to stop.  

“I already felt some way about him. I didn’t like him,” Mr. Grima said, according to the Post. “The guy who’s choking him out won’t let anyone near? That’s weird. That’s wrong.”

So far, no evidence has been presented that Neely confronted or touched anyone aboard the train. He was also unarmed during the incident.

But the trial took a turn last week when police body camera footage showed two officers confirming they detected a faint pulse from the unconscious Neely when they arrived.

The high-profile case has onlookers debating whether Mr. Penny acted as a lawless vigilante or a good Samaritan.

Race also adds to the case’s public intrigue. Mr. Penny is White and Neely was Black.

Neely had been arrested more than 40 times in the past decade, including for assaulting a woman in her 60s and kidnapping a 7-year-old girl.

Neely had impersonated Michael Jackson in street performances. His family said he struggled with drug addiction.

Mr. Penny served four years in the Marines before being discharged in 2021. The Long Island native was looking for work as a bartender when the incident happened.