Daniel Penny hit with new civil lawsuit from Jordan Neely’s father amid criminal trial
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(NEW YORK) — The father of Jordan Neely, a homeless man who died after being placed in a chokehold by subway rider Daniel Penny, filed a civil lawsuit against Penny on Wednesday for negligent contact, assault and battery that led to Neely’s death.
Penny, a 25-year-old former Marine, put Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, in a six-minute-long chokehold after Neely boarded a subway car acting erratically, according to police. Witnesses described Neely yelling and moving erratically, with Penny’s attorneys calling Neely “insanely threatening,” when Penny put Neely in a chokehold.
The city’s medical examiner concluded Penny’s chokehold killed Neely.
“The aforesaid incident, injuries, and death were caused by reason of defendant Daniel Penny’s negligence,” the lawsuit alleged.
Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, requested damages “in such sum as a jury may find reasonable, fair, and just.”
Penny is currently on trial for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s May 2023 death. Penny, 25, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The jury is currently deliberating the criminal trial.
Zachery is present in court this morning, seated alone in the courtroom gallery a few rows back from the jury box.
Penny’s attorneys were not immediately available for comment.
(NEW YORK) — The FBI has uncovered “additional criminal conduct” by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, federal prosecutors said in a new court filing Tuesday.
Adams has already pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment charging him with accepting luxury travel in exchange for political favors, including persuading the fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the lingering safety concerns of inspectors.
The disclosure of possible additional criminal conduct came in a court filing in which prosecutors opposed a defense request for additional information about the initial charges.
“Although the Indictment and discovery provide Adams with more than sufficient information as to his alleged co-conspirators and aiders and abettors, law enforcement has continued to identify additional individuals involved in Adams’s conduct, and to uncover additional criminal conduct by Adams,” the filing said.
Federal prosecutors did not elaborate but have said in prior court hearings a superseding indictment is “likely” in the mayor’s criminal case.
Alex Spiro, the mayor’s lawyer, said Tuesday: “This is amateur hour. They are just looking for a headline instead of doing the right thing. I assume we are at the point where New Yorkers are not falling for it.”
Adams, who was elected in 2021, is the first sitting New York City mayor to ever face charges.
He is expected to stand trial on federal corruption charges in April.
Luigi Mangione is seen inside the police station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024/Obtained by ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel last week, considered the slaying to be a “symbolic takedown” of UnitedHealthcare over perceived corruption, according to a confidential assessment of the crime by the NYPD intelligence bureau described to ABC News.
Mangione “appeared to view the targeted killing … as a symbolic takedown and a direct challenge to its alleged corruption and ‘power games,'” the assessment said, according to a source. Mangione allegedly described himself as the “first to face” United Healthcare “with such brutal honesty.”
The assessment is based in part on the suspect’s writings.
When Mangione was arrested on Monday he had “written admissions about the crime” with him, according to the New York arrest warrant.
Mangione had several handwritten pages on him that expressed a “disdain for corporate America” and indicated “he’s frustrated with the health care system in the United States,” NYPD Chief of Detective Joe Kenny told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.
“Specifically, he states how we are the No. 1 most expensive health care system in the world, yet the life expectancy of an American is ranked 42 in the world,” Kenny said.
Whether Mangione has a personal connection to UnitedHealthcare is unknown, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, but the writings mention UnitedHealthcare by name, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The sources described the handwriting as sloppy and included these quotes: “These parasites had it coming” and “I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.”
Mangione — who was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday in connection with Thompson’s Dec. 4 slaying — is in custody in Pennsylvania and is set to appear at an extradition hearing at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The NYPD was “thrilled” to get the call from Altoona police that they had a person of interest in custody, Tisch told “GMA.”
Kenny said “the key to this case” was releasing the photo of the suspect’s face to the media and the public.
“That picture reached Pennsylvania,” where Mangione was recognized at a McDonald’s on Monday morning, Kenny said.
“We are grateful as a city to that person,” Tisch said.
“We had collected early in the investigation some forensic evidence, some DNA evidence, some fingerprints, so we were very confident that we were ultimately going to get to the right person,” Tisch added.
“We do have a lot of evidence in this case,” Tisch told “GMA.”
Mangione was apprehended “in possession of the same New Jersey fake identification that was used” to check into a hostel on New York’s Upper West Side before Thompson was gunned down, she said.
The gun Mangione was allegedly found with on Monday “looks very similar” to the gun used in the murder, “with a similar suppressor,” Tisch said. “So there’s a lot of reasons that we feel very strongly that he is the person of interest.”
Officers allegedly found a 3D printed pistol and a 3D printed silencer, according to the criminal complaint filed in Pennsylvania.
“The pistol had one loaded Glock magazine with six nine-millimeter full metal jack rounds. There was also one loose nine-millimeter hollow point round,” the complaint said.
Kenny described the weapon as a “ghost gun,” meaning it had no serial number and was untraceable.
Mangione, a Maryland native and Ivy League graduate, has been charged in New York with second-degree murder, possession of a loaded firearm, possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of a weapon.
He was charged with five crimes in Pennsylvania, including carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to authorities and possessing “instruments of crime,” according to the criminal complaint.
Mangione’s family said in a statement that they’re “shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
The Pennsylvania State Police is asking for the public’s help piecing together Mangione’s travel in Pennsylvania. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-4PA-TIPS.
Police are also looking at Mangione’s travel at various points across the United States and out of the county within the past year, sources said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — A California man who pleaded guilty to a felony for his participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol filed a letter Wednesday showing he was personally invited by a retired Republican congressman to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Russell Taylor, whom prosecutors described as a “leader” who organized a “group of fighters” to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, to obstruct Congress’ certification of Trump’s 2020 election loss, filed the letter from retired Republican Rep. Chris Stewart in a request for the judge overseeing his case to approve his travel to the nation’s capital.
Stewart makes no direct mention in the letter of Taylor’s participation in the Capitol attack, instead describing him as “a man of integrity and faith who has served those who are less fortunate.”
“Russ’ passion for what is right and good is reflected in his intentions to lift others,” Stewart said.
However, prosecutors described him as leading “not just by words, but by deeds,” in advance of the Capitol attack, according to court documents from his case. Taylor “repeatedly called for violence and a show of force” to overturn the election and, on Jan. 6 itself, led a mob that overran a police line near the inaugural stage while wearing “an exposed knife on top of a bullet proof chest plate and carrying bear spray,” according to his sentencing memo.
Taylor received credit from the judge overseeing his case, Royce Lamberth, for his agreement to enter into a plea deal with prosecutors followed by testimony at trial that helped convict one of his co-conspirators. Lamberth rejected prosecutors’ request to sentence him to over four years in prison and instead sentenced him to six months of home detention and probation.
“Counsel submits that Mr. Taylor does not pose any risk or concern for this travel request,” Taylor’s attorneys said in their letter to Lamberth on Wednesday. “He is traveling with his family including minor children. He is the guest of a former Congressman, and has demonstrated over and over again that he is trustworthy in his travel and compliance with Court Orders. We hereby request he be allowed to travel to Washington D.C. from January 16 to 21, 2025.”
