Daniel Penny joined venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz as an Investing Partner. The 26-year-old Marine veteran was acquitted in December of cri*inally negligent homicide following the 2023 chokehold death of Jordan Neely.
The role, which he began in February 2025, marks an unlikely pivot for a man whose name became a flashpoint in a national argument about vigilance, mental illness and public safety on New York City’s transit system.
Before the firm, and before the subway car that changed his life, Penny spent four years in the United States Marine Corps as a Squad Leader, a role he held from June 2017 to June 2021. He later studied Civil Engineering and Architecture at City Tech, CUNY.
None of that background hinted at the trajectory that would follow: a cr*minal trial watched by the entire country, and now, a seat inside one of the most influential investment firms in tech.
According to sources, the case that put Penny in the national spotlight began on May 1, 2023, when Neely, a 30-year-old unhoused man who worked as a street performer and Michael Jackson impersonator, boarded an F train in SoHo and began shouting, throwing things and making threats toward other passengers. Penny approached him from behind and restrained him in a chokehold, holding the position on the floor of the train car for several minutes until Neely stopped moving.
Video of the encounter spread rapidly online, and despite efforts from responding officers, who administered Narcan, performed CPR and used an AED, Neely was pronounced dead at the scene. A medical examiner later ruled the manner of death a homicide caused by compression of the neck; toxicology results showed synthetic marijuana in Neely’s system.
Penny turned himself in on May 12, 2023, and was charged with second-degree manslaughter, later amended to add cri*inally negligent homicide. He pleaded not guilty to both, facing up to 15 years behind bars if convicted on the top count.
His defense maintained throughout that he acted to protect fellow riders and that there was no other way to defuse Neely’s behavior in the moment. Prosecutors argued the opposite, that Penny had good intentions but used force far beyond what the situation called for and never attempted to de-escalate.
The trial, which began November 1, 2024, stretched across weeks of testimony from more than 30 witnesses, including police officers, MTA employees, fellow passengers, a bystander who helped Penny hold Neely down, Penny’s own Marine Corps martial arts instructor, and the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy. The defense countered with a forensic pathologist who disputed the official cause of death, along with character witnesses that included Penny’s mother and his former platoon sergeants.
Jurors deliberated for more than 20 hours across four days, sending notes requesting readbacks of testimony, video footage and written legal definitions. On the fourth day, they told the judge they could not reach a unanimous decision on the manslaughter charge. That count was dismissed, clearing the way for jurors to weigh the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide alone. They returned a not guilty verdict on December 9, 2024.
Inside the courtroom, CBS News New York’s Alice Gainer described the scene as chaotic, with supporters cheering while Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, stood up and had to be escorted out after he was heard swearing.
Speaking afterward, Zachery said, “My son didn’t have to go through this. I didn’t have to go through this, either. It hurts. It really, really hurts.” He continued, “What’s going to happen to us now? Had enough of this. System is rigged. Come on, people. Let’s do something about this.”
Penny’s legal team struck a very different tone. “We couldn’t be more pleased that a jury of Danny’s peers acquitted him of any wrongdoing,” his lawyers said in a statement. “And now New Yorkers can take some comfort in knowing that we can continue to stand up for one another without sacrificing our rights or our freedoms.”
Reaction outside the courthouse split along familiar lines. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who had spoken at Neely’s funeral, called the verdict “the blatant legalization of civilian vigilantism, sending a dangerous message that citizens can now take matters into their own hands, even if it leads to someone’s death.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the case, defended the decision to prosecute while accepting the outcome. “As with every case, we followed the facts and the evidence from beginning to end,” Bragg said, noting that a grand jury had voted to indict and that the trial jury deliberated carefully, requesting readbacks and video footage along the way. “The jury has now spoken. At the Manhattan D.A.’s Office we deeply respect the jury process and we respect their verdict.”
Bragg also condemned the harassment his prosecutors and their families faced during the proceedings, calling it “unacceptable” regardless of anyone’s opinion on the case itself.
More than a year later, Penny’s next chapter looks nothing like the one that made him a household name. Andreessen Horowitz, co-founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, has built its reputation backing early-stage technology companies and has increasingly drawn in partners with unconventional resumes.
