Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran charged in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, appeared in court in Lower Manhattan Thursday for a pretrial hearing.

The hearing was held to sort out which evidence will be presented at Penny's trial. Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 21.

Penny is charged with second-degree manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who was shouting and begging for money on a Manhattan train the day of the May 2023 incident, according to multiple witnesses.

Penny pinned Neely to the floor of the moving subway car with the help of two other passengers and then held him in a chokehold for more than three minutes.

Neely, 30, lost consciousness during the struggle and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The chokehold death was caught on video by a bystander. Penny, a Long Island native, has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

In court Thursday, reporters heard a video recording of Penny speaking to two New York City police detectives at the 5th Precinct after his encounter with Neely.

Two additional videos taken by body cameras worn by two officers who responded to the subway station where the incident occurred were also played in court Thursday.

The defense is trying to establish that police had no probable cause to treat Penny as a criminal suspect.

NY1 spoke with one of Penny's defense attorneys, Steven Raiser, on a break from the hearing.

"Mr. Neely was a threat. They were scared, and Mr. Penny, our client, stepped in and saved them," Raiser said.

Along with showing the three videos, prosecutors called three witnesses to the stand: the police detective who interviewed Penny and two of the responding officers whose body camera footage was shown in court. Prosecutors are relying on that video and testimony.

The detective said that Penny told one of the responding officers that he "took him out," referring to Neely.

One of the responding officers on the stand also demonstrated how Penny described the move he placed on Neely.

Penny was initially arrested on the manslaughter charge in May 2023, but a grand jury added a negligent homicide count, potentially giving a trial jury the option of finding him guilty of the lesser charge.

Penny, who served in the Marines for four years and was discharged in 2021, has said he acted to protect himself and others from Neely that day.

Neely's family members and their supporters have said Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness, was crying out for help and was met with violence.