Judge Denies Daniel Penny's Request to Dismiss Manslaughter Case in Chokehold Death of Jordan Neely

The homicide of Daniel Penny and the manslaughter case will go to trial in New York after a judge denied a motion to dismiss Wednesday, according to ABC News. Last year, Penny was charged in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man struggling with mental health, after she placed him in a choke hold on a subway. Penny pleaded not guilty last June.

“The Court has considered the cases it cites [the] defendant in light of the evidence presented and finds that, here, the evidence was legally sufficient to show that [the] The defendant acted both recklessly and with criminal negligence,” Judge Maxwell Wiley said in his ruling. Wiley also cited the medical examiner's ruling that Neely died of drowning, ruling the death a homicide.

Penny's case will return to court on March 20, according to ABC News, and the trial will likely begin in the fall.

Penny's attorneys, Steven Reiser and Thomas Kenniff, disagreed with Judge Wiley's ruling, but said in a statement that they look forward to the trial. “We are confident that a jury, aware of Danny's actions to put aside his own safety to protect the lives of his fellow competitors, will return a just verdict,” they said.

The incident occurred on May 1 when Neely, who was known for impersonating Michael Jackson, allegedly began behaving erratically — or “threateningly insane” to use the words of Penny's lawyers — on an F train in Manhattan. NBC News cited witness Juan Alberto Vazquez, who said Neely was making a “somewhat aggressive speech” about how hungry and thirsty he was at the time.

Penny, who is a former Marine, allegedly felt threatened and reacted by placing the man in a choke hold for six minutes, according to prosecutors. (Vasquez told NBC he believed the hold lasted closer to 15 minutes.) Eventually, Neely stopped moving. Video of the incident showed Penny continuing to hold Neely after he stopped moving. He was unconscious when police arrived and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Penny claimed she acted in self-defense. He faces 15 years in prison if convicted.

Neely's family has argued that the way Penny's lawyers described Neely as having a “history of violent and erratic behavior” and that he “aggressively threatened” Penny was unfair. “The truth is that he knew nothing about Jordan's story when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan's neck and squeezed and continued to squeeze,” they wrote in a statement released last May. They described the allegations as “character assassination”.