Jordan Neely’s attorneys rip into Penny’s statement, beg Mayor Adams to ‘give us a call’

Attorneys for the family of Jordan Neely on Monday ripped into former Marine Daniel Penny’s statement that he “never intended to harm” the homeless man when he placed him in a deadly chokehold on the subway last week.

Lawyers Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards said both Penny’s actions aboard the train and his apparent lack of apology or regret in a statement issued through his attorneys on Friday “show why he needs to be in prison.”

“He never attempted to help [Neely] at all,” the attorneys wrote. “You cannot ‘assist’ someone with a chokehold … In short, his actions on the train, and now his words, show why he needs to be in prison.”

Through their lawyers, Neely’s family also begged Mayor Eric Adams to “please give us a call.”

“The family wants you to know that Jordan matters,” they said in part of the statement addressing Adams. “You seem to think others are more important than him.”

Adams’ office did not answer questions about whether the mayor had gotten in touch with the bereaved, instead issuing a statement that said Neely’s life was “tragically lost, and his family and our city are dealing with the emotional impact of this matter.”

“This is an incredible tragedy and my deepest sympathies are with the Neely family,” Adams said.

Neely, a 30-year-old former street performer, died May 1 after Penny, 24, laced his arms around Neely’s neck while the homeless man was yelling at subway riders and throwing trash on an F train in Manhattan.

The city medical examiner has ruled Neely’s death a homicide. Sources have told The Post that prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office will impanel a grand jury to determine whether Penny should be charged with a crime.

On Friday, Penny’s attorneys put out a statement that said their client acted to protect himself and other passengers until help arrived.

“Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness,” the statement said. “Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

Penny also offered his condolences to Neely’s family.

Attorneys Mills and Edwards struck back in their statement, saying Penny “knew nothing about [Jordan’s] history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Neely’s neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing.”

The attorneys also said that although Penny claims the public has “for too long” shown indifference to the plight of the mentally ill, it was Penny who was indifferent when he killed Neely.

“That term is more appropriately used to describe himself,” the attorneys wrote.

Neely — who sank into a deep depression after his stepfather brutally murdered his mom in 2007 — had a lengthy history of mental illness that his family said was never treated correctly.

He also had a plethora of run-ins with the cops, and his frequent outbursts of random violence led to at least one lengthy stay in jail.

Neely randomly punched Anne Mitcheltree in June 2021 inside the S.K. Deli Market on 2nd Avenue in the East Village, which left the 65-year-old woman with swelling and substantial pain.

A few months later, he belted a 67-year-old woman in the East Village, police sources said. The November attack knocked the woman over and left her with a broken nose, fractured orbital bone and bruising, swelling and substantial pain, according to charging documents.

The assault landed Neely in Rikers Island for more than a year.

In total, he had more than 40 arrests on his long rap sheet and about 43 calls for an “aided case,” which means someone is sick, injured or mentally ill, sources said.

He was also reportedly on a city roster colloquially known as the “Top 50” list, an internal catalogue held by the city’s Department of Homeless Services that details which people are cycling in and out of homeless shelters and mental health treatment centers.

Additional reporting by Nolan Hicks