Daniel Penney returns to court for the opening of closing arguments in the subway chokehold trial

Daniel Penny’s Subway Choke hold trial It will resume Monday, with attorneys expected to begin their closing arguments after the Thanksgiving break.

The 26-year-old architecture student and Marine Corps veteran could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old mentally ill homeless man who used synthetic marijuana. Tha started threatening a subway car and passengers.

Neely had a warrant out for his arrest at the time, the last witness in the case before the defense rested its case — along with a long criminal history and schizophrenia.

Daniel Penney’s defense continues as the final witness that Jordan Neely had an open warrant, the defendant did not testify.

The responding officers questioned Penny – without telling her that Neely was dead – and then let her go. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office obtained an indictment about two weeks later and Penny turned himself in.

A diverse cast of prosecution witnesses testified that Neely was terrorizing them with threats to kill them in a subway explosion that went above and beyond the typical subway explosion that many members of the jury had previously heard. Looked at the city’s troubled public transit system.

Defense attorney Steven Ricer went first, speaking for nearly two hours and arguing that Penny’s use of force was justified, legal and not the sole cause of Neely’s death.

“All those riders and more, Daniel Penny was the one who stepped up to protect them. Why? Because he had something that the others didn’t, which was unique to him. His training,” Riser said. said “Danny acted to save these people, and there is no dispute that when Danny acted, he did not know whether Jordan Nellie was armed or not.”

Bragg, who was not present during Reiser’s summation, arrived in person after the lunch break and sat in the second row as his prosecutors prepared to speak.

WATCH: Former NYPD lieutenant says Daniel Penney trial sets ‘bad precedent’ for police officers

Once arguments are over, Judge Maxwell Wiley is also expected to give full instructions to the jury ahead of their deliberations after the defense raised several objections to how Bragg’s office handled the case, which The judge accepted as soon as he picked up. “Prejudice” concerns.

Daniel Penny Defense Calls Forensic Pathologist to Testify: ‘Choke Hold Did Not Cause Death’

Prosecutors argue that Penney went too far when he put a belligerent, screaming Nellie in a chokehold on a Manhattan subway car after she began making death threats.

Nellie was black and Penny is white, and prosecutors appeared in court to highlight the racial underpinnings of the case, even though Penny is not charged with a hate crime. They allowed one witness to repeatedly describe Penny as a “white man” and another to call him a “murderer” even though no murder charges were filed in connection with the case.

Assistant District Attorney Daphne Uran also brought up the term “murder,” telling Wylie to ask the jury to ignore the term, explaining that “murder” meant something different to the medical examiner. As for a lawyer or a judge.

Witness Laurie Citro testified that in 30 years of riding the subway, she had seen many unstable people, but this one “felt different.”

“I was scared for my son,” she testified during cross-examination. “It’s not like you can take a 5-year-old to the next train. I was so relieved when Daniel Penney stopped him from walking around intermittently.”

Setro wasn’t the only woman who told the court Neely threatened them when he boarded the train, making threats and violently throwing his jacket. Many did, including Evette Rosarioa teenage straphanger who said she just wanted to “leave,” and Arethia Gettings, who said she was “scared” and remained at the scene to speak with responding officers.

Gettings testified that it didn’t seem like Nellie was going to give up as Penny and the other men grabbed her, that she was particularly scared of the encounter after enduring earlier attacks on other subway cars and that she didn’t. Penny seemed to be putting pressure on Nellie’s neck, but also trying to restrain her as the officers were in the way.

“I came back to thank Mr. Penny for what he did in this terrible situation,” she testified.

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Another female passenger who testified was Caedryn Schrunk, a brand manager at Nike, who said Neely boarded the train and immediately smelled “meaty sweatpants” in the car.

“I was afraid I was going to die at that moment,” she told the court.

In addition to the manslaughter count, Penny faces a lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. Jurors must demonstrate “recklessness” for Penny to convict on manslaughter and “negligence” for the lesser charge.