Penny was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide following an incident in May 2023

The process of Daniel Pennyformer Marine accused of killing Jordan Neely aboard a subway in New York, presented the testimony of a man who helped the defendant apprehend the victim.

Eric Gonzalez testified during the trial on Tuesday, Nov. 12, that he hoped that by assisting Penny, the former Marine would remove the choking power he had over Neely. The New York Times reported.

“I said, ‘I’m going to grab his hands so you can let go,'” Gonzalez said, according to Times. “If I held his arms down, he might drop his neck.”

Penny, who is White, was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicideaccording to court records, after an incident in 2023 that was caught on video. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

Related: Jordan Neely’s family says Daniel Penny ‘needs to be in jail’ after Subway Chokehold death

The footage shows Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran at the time of the incident, in a fight with Neely, a black man who was experiencing homelessness at the time, Times reported.

Neely, 30, boarded a northbound F train on May 1, 2023. In a press release Announcing Penny’s charges, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Neely began verbally threatening passengers once he got on board.

The Timesciting witnesses, reported that Neely — once a renowned Michael Jackson impersonator — said he didn’t mind going back to prison and complained that he was hungry.

Gonzalez was called to testify by prosecutors, according to the newspaper. Furthermore, he testified that he told Neely that they would not let him leave until the police came.

The man told the court that even after helping Penny hold Neely down, the suspect did not release the victim, who eventually escaped. Gonzalez said he eventually let go before Penny did too.

“I tried to shake Jordan Neely to get a response out of him,” Gonzalez testified.

Gonzalez said he then felt Neely, who was then unconscious, for a pulse, before adding that he began to fear “that a person might die,” according to the publication. Times.

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Prosecutors say Penny approached Neely from behind and choked him for several minutes, the media reported, adding that Neely’s body eventually stopped moving and he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Penny was indicted by a grand jury on June 28, 2023, after video of the incident went viral, leaving many in New York, as well as across the country, shocked while others protested.

In a statement to PEOPLENeely’s family said they believe Penny “needs to be in jail.”