Man Who Restrained Jordan Neely Along with Daniel Penny Said He Helped So Defendant Would 'Let Go'

The trial of Daniel Penny, the former Marine charged with killing Jordan Neely aboard a New York City subway, featured testimony from a man who helped the defendant restrain the victim.

Eric Gonzalez testified during the trial on Tuesday, Nov. 12, that he hoped that by assisting Penny, the former Marine would remove the chokehold he had on Neely, The New York Times reported.

“I said, ‘I’m going grab his hands so you can let go,’” Gonzalez said, according to the Times. “If I held his arms down, he could let go of his neck.”

Penny, who is White, was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, according to court records, after a 2023 incident that was captured on video. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

Footage shows Penny, a Marine veteran who was 24 at the time of the incident, in a struggle with Neely, a Black man who was experiencing homelessness at the time, the Times reported.

Neely, 30, boarded a northbound F train on May 1, 2023. In a news release announcing Penny’s charges, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that Neely began verbally threatening passengers once on board.

The Times, citing witnesses, reported that Neely — a once noted Michael Jackson impersonator — said he didn’t mind going back to jail and complained of being hungry.

Gonzalez was called to testify by prosecutors, according to the paper. He further testified that he told Neely that they would not let him go until police arrived.

The man told the court that even after helping Penny hold Neely down, the suspect did not release the victim, who eventually went limp. Gonzalez said he eventually let go before Penny eventually did too.

“I tried to shake Jordan Neely to get a response out of him,” Gonzalez reportedly testified.

Gonzalez said he then felt the then-unconscious Neely for a pulse before adding that he began to fear “that a person could die,” according to the Times. 

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Prosecutors say that Penny approached Neely from behind and put him in a chokehold for several minutes, the outlet reported, adding that eventually Neely’s body stopped moving and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Penny was indicted by a grand jury on June 28, 2023, after the video of the incident went viral, leaving many in N.Y.C., as well as those across the country, outraged while others protested.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Neely’s family said that they believe Penny “needs to be in prison.”