NYC Marine veteran charged in death of man 'making threats and scaring passengers'
Daniel Penny, a former marine who surrendered to police in New York, could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty
www.theguardian.com
Outreach workers were so familiar with Neely that he was on the city's "Top 50" list – an internal roster kept by the Department of Homeless Services of people most in need of help, the local paper reported.
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Meanwhile, a 66-year-old woman who witnessed the altercation told
The New York Post she was praying for Penny.
Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man suffering from mental illness, was "threatening passengers," she said.
"He said, ‘I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet, I’ll go to jail’ because he would kill people on the train," the woman said of Neely. "He said, ‘I would kill a motherf—er. I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet. I’ll go to jail.’"
Penny didn't step in until Neely's behavior got out of hand, the retiree said. She thanked the young man afterward for protecting the passengers.
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Neely had a history of violent attacks on subway riders – including, in 2021, punching a 67-year-old woman in the face, breaking her nose and orbital bone, court records obtained by Fox News Digital show.
Four months earlier, he allegedly slugged another woman in the face on the subway platform, the records reveal.
In 2019, he allegedly sucker-punched two men in the face on different subway platforms one month apart, breaking one victim's nose, according to the documents.