Daniel James Penny is a United States Marine Corps veteran from West Islip, Suffolk County, Long Island, United States. He previously worked at a burger restaurant and as a sales associate for a surf shop.

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BIOGRAPHY

In an online profile, Penny describes himself as adventurous, charismatic and authentic. He wrote, “Growing up here in New York, I have always been inspired by the ambition and grit.”

“After high school and unsure of my future, I enlisted in the Marine Corps in search of adventure,” Penny continued. “While serving as squad leader on two deployments, I began to realize what I was passionate about. I loved helping, communicating, and connecting to different people from all over the world.”

For Penny, Manhattan, New York City, New York is the center of the world and bartending there “would be an extremely fulfilling position”. Shortly after graduating from West Islip High School in West Islip, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served as an infantryman and a sergeant.

Penny’s last duty assignment was at the U.S. Marine Corps base camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. According to him, he enrolled in college after military but he felt completely unfulfilled.

“I decided to drop out of school and backpack throughout Central America, ” Penny wrote in an online profile. “This decision was inspired by the novel Don Quixote; Don Quixote so inspired by adventure, he leaves his ‘normal’ life to pursue his dreams despite being called a madman.”

“During the travels, I rediscovered my love for interacting and connecting with people,” Penny continued. Here are 10 more things about him:

  1. He was born in Long Island.
  2. He is a surfing enthusiast.
  3. He has visited trails across Honduras and different parts of the U.S. including Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Vermont.
  4. was 6 years younger than former Michael Jackson impersonator Jordan Neely.
  5. In 2015, he was given the Most Valuable Player award as a lacrosse player in West Islip High School.
  6. In 2017, he graduated from West Islip High School.
  7. From December 2017 to July 2019, the U.S. Marine Corps deployed him in the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit across the Mediterranean.
  8. In June 2021, he left the U.S. Marine Corps.
  9. In 2023, he was arrested after choking Neely.
  10. In July 2024, he turned 26.

TIMELINE

Penny was employed as a bartender in Manhattan when he encountered Neely. After Penny’s arrest, he was represented by Thomas Kenniff of Raiser & Keniff, a law firm based in Mineola, Nassau County, Long Island.

  • At around 2:30 p.m. on May 1, 2023, he was wearing a hat with an Australian surf brand logo and a sweatshirt from a surf shop in Long Island while aboard an F train in Manhattan. That afternoon, Juan Alberto Vazquez took a video of him putting Neely in a chokehold for at least 15 minutes while two other men held Neely to the floor of the train car. Neely lost consciousness and was pronounced dead at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan shortly afterwards. He was taken into custody and later released. 
  • On May 5, 2023, Kenniff issued a statement, suggesting he acted in self defense and never intended to harm Neely on May 1, 2023.
  • Just after 8:00 a.m. on May 12, 2023, he surrendered to police in Manhattan. Accompanied by Kenniff, he appeared before a judge at Manhattan Criminal Court and was charged with second-degree manslaughter. He was ordered to turn over his passport and prohibited from leaving New York.
  • On June 15, 2023, a grand jury indicted him.
  • On June 28, 2023, he pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide at his arraignment in Manhattan.
  • On January 17, 2024, a judge in New York City declined to dismiss the case against him.
  • On October 21, 2024, jury selection in his trial started.
  • On December 6, 2024, Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the second-degree manslaughter charge filed against him and directed the jury in his trial to turn to the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
  • On December 9, 2024, he was acquitted in the killing of Neely.

2025

  • On April 5, 2025, he he walked the runway dressed in a kilt in a charity fashion show in New York, which marked his debut as a model.
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Published by Kiyoshi Motohiko

A business and technology enthusiast, I am curious about how societies pick which brands to include in their history as a generational group.

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