(Reuters) – A former U.S. Marine who killed a homeless man by putting him in a chokehold on the New York City subway was taken into custody on Friday and expected to be arraigned on a manslaughter charge, CNN reported.
A viral video showed the former Marine, identified as Daniel Penny, putting 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a chokehold on May 1 while they rode on the F train in Manhattan. Neely died from a compression of the neck, the medical examiner said, but Penny’s lawyers said he did not mean to kill him.
According to witnesses, Neely, who was known to impersonate Michael Jackson in the subway system, was complaining loudly about being hungry and saying he was ready to die when Penny came up behind him and gripped him around the neck. Penny restrained him on the floor of the subway car until he appeared to stop moving. Neely was later declared dead.
Penny, 24, surrendered to police on Friday to face one count of second-degree manslaughter, CNN reported. He is to be arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Thursday.
A bystander’s video of Neely’s death garnered national attention and revived a debate among New Yorkers about crime in the subway and what to do with a growing number of homeless people in the city.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
