A Manhattan grand jury could be convened as early as next week in the fatal subway chokehold of Jordan Neely, The Post has learned.
Marine Daniel Penny, 24, was identified as the man caught on video putting Nealy, 30, into a headlock for minutes on an F train at a Lower Manhattan subway stop on Monday afternoon.
Penny was taken into custody briefly but released without charges, with the police saying they would wait for the medical examiner’s autopsy before deciding whether to bring a criminal case against the West Islip infantry squad leader.
A grand jury could be called by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as early as next week to determine whether to indict Penny, a law enforcement source told The Post.
The DA’s Office said Wednesday that “senior, experienced prosecutors” were carrying out a “rigorous” probe of the tragic incident. The office said it will review the ME’s report, video and interview witnesses as part of the investigation.
The office declined to comment further Friday.
The incident began when Neely — who struggled with mental health issues since his mother’s murder over a decade ago — started ranting on the train, including threatening passengers and throwing trash at them, while asking for food.
Neely then screamed he was “fed up” and said he didn’t “care if I go to jail, and if they give me life in prison,” police and witnesses said.
Penny — who was in the Marine Corps from 2017 to 2021 — then put Neely into a chokehold for several minutes, causing him to lose consciousness.
Legal eagles told The Post earlier this week that Penny could potentially face raps of manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide — though stressed that it depends on how threatened riders felt beforehand.
“It really depends, I suppose, on the danger that he posed to the other passengers,” said Jeffrey Lichtman, the defense attorney who’s represented Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and John Gotti Jr.
“I think what the DA is going to do is talk to the people who were there, and they’re going to find out exactly what kind of legitimate threat the guy posed.”
“Some guy yelling at you on the subway — you can’t choke him out and kill him.
“The potential defendant may be saying, ‘Look, I didn’t try to kill him. I was just trying to hold him in place so he would stop harassing people,’” Lichtman continued.
First-degree manslaughter carries up to 25 years in prison, while second degree carries up to 15 years. Criminally negligent homicide carries between one and five years.
Penny’s criminal defense attorney didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
