New York judge sets trial date for Daniel Penny in subway chokehold death

A Manhattan judge has scheduled an Oct. 8 trial for Daniel Penny, the Marine Corps veteran and college student charged with manslaughter in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, who stormed onto a subway train and threatened passengers in May.

The trial is expected to take four to six weeks, attorneys said in court Wednesday. Penny's next hearing in the case is set for Sept. 17.

Penny, 24, allegedly told police an "irate" Neely "was threatening everybody" and ranting about going to prison, according to court documents. He placed the "erratic" passenger in a chokehold, and another man helped restrain him until the subway car reached the next station, video of the incident shows.

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One witness called Penny a "hero" and said she was afraid of what Neely might do.

"I’m looking at where we are in the tube, in the sardine can, and I’m like, ‘OK, we’re in between stations. There’s nowhere we can go,’" she told Fox News Digital days after the incident. "The people on that train, we were scared. We were scared for our lives."

Another witness, who recorded the widely-circulated video of the incident, told the New York Post he did not think Neely was in danger as Penny and another man held him down.

Neely had a documented history of mental illness and a criminal record, which included prior subway assaults. 

Penny cooperated with police and was initially released, but he turned himself in 11 days later when District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office charged him with manslaughter.

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Penny and his defense team left the courthouse shortly after the 10 a.m. hearing Wednesday and did not speak with reporters.

"The reality is, if force against riders is used or threatened and if they choose to defend themselves, there is a likelihood that the assailants might get hurt and the riders defending themselves are the ones being arrested," Steven Raiser, one of his lawyers, told Fox News Digital before the hearing. "That is a ‘Catch-22,’ let yourself, or someone else, be a victim, or risk being a defendant in court."

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Lennon Edwards, the attorney for Neely's family, said outside the courthouse that the slain man was unarmed at the time of the incident.

"He was emotional, but distressed does not mean dangerous," he told reporters, later adding, "Whenever we see people with a problem as a problem, that mentality is part of the problem."

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Edwards welcomed the trial date and appeared to predict a conviction.

"Daniel Penny was judge, jury and executioner," he said. "We're expecting on that day, when the trial starts, he will be facing a judge, a jury and a sentence."

Penny faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted on the second-degree manslaughter charge.

Transit crime has continued to plague New York City following Neely's death. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sent the National Guard and state troopers to assist with random bag checks.

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Last week, a man died on a Brooklyn subway car after he threatened another passenger with a gun and a knife, according to authorities. The victim took his gun and shot him with it.

Prosecutors there did not seek charges against the surviving passenger.