Daniel Penny, the man indicted in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, will stand trial starting Oct. 8, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley said Wednesday morning.

"Myself and my legal team still hold out hope that somehow the Manhattan District Attorney's office will see the injustice in continuing this prosecution and dismiss the case," Thomas Kenniff, Penny's attorney, said. "But if that doesn't happen, at this point it looks like its not going to, then we're absolutely ready to take this case to trial."

Wiley in January declined to dismiss the case against the U.S. Marine veteran, who has been charged with manslaughter for placing 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold aboard an F train last May.

What You Need To Know

  • Daniel Penny, the man indicted in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, will stand trial starting Oct. 8, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley said

  • Wiley in January declined to dismiss the case against the U.S. Marine veteran, who has been charged with manslaughter for placing 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold aboard an F train last Ma

  • Penny pleaded not guilty in June

  • The next court date, a suppression hearing, is scheduled for Sept. 17

Nealy had been shouting and begging for money when Penny pinned him to the floor of the moving subway car with the help of two other passengers and then held him in a chokehold for multiple minutes, officials said.

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

Penny pleaded not guilty in June.

"No one wanted to see a loss of life occur here. Any loss of life is tragic," Kenniff said. "But the reality is that Jordan Neely was a threat.” 

Penny's attorney compared the incident to the fight on an A train last week where a man threatened a couple with a gun, and police say the other man took it and shot him. Prosecutors have said that appears to have been self-defense. Attorney's for Jordan Neely's family point out the difference.

"He didn't see a gun. He didn't see a knife," Donte Mills, attorney for Jordan Neely's family, said. "In fact, Jordan Neely lifted his shirt up. He took his jacket off. You could see there were no weapons."

Mills said Neely posed no threat and Penny, a former marine, continued to choke Neely for six minutes even after his body went limp. Neely was homeless and known to many for performing in the subway system, often impersonating Michael Jackson. 

The next court date, a suppression hearing, is scheduled for Sept. 17, Kenniff said.