Neely assault victim on chokehold controversy: 'The Marine shouldn't be punished'

by ALEC SCHEMMEL | The National Desk

Fri, May 5th 2023, 5:26 PM UTC

New York police officers respond to the scene where a fight was reported on a subway train, Monday, May 1, 2023, in New York. A man suffering an apparent mental health episode aboard a New York City subway died on Monday after being placed in a headlock by a fellow rider, according to police officials and video of the encounter. Jordan Neely, 30, was shouting and pacing aboard an F train in Manhattan witnesses and police said, when he was taken to the floor by another passenger. (Paul Martinka via AP)

New York police officers administer CPR to a man at the scene where a fight was reported on a subway train, Monday, May 1, 2023, in New York. A man suffering an apparent mental health episode aboard a New York City subway died on Monday after being placed in a headlock by a fellow rider, according to police officials and video of the encounter. Jordan Neely, 30, was shouting and pacing aboard an F train in Manhattan, witnesses and police said, when he was taken to the floor by another passenger. (Paul Martinka via AP)

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New York police officers respond to the scene where a fight was reported on a subway train, Monday, May 1, 2023, in New York. A man suffering an apparent mental health episode aboard a New York City subway died on Monday after being placed in a headlock by a fellow rider, according to police officials and video of the encounter. Jordan Neely, 30, was shouting and pacing aboard an F train in Manhattan witnesses and police said, when he was taken to the floor by another passenger. (Paul Martinka via AP)

NEW YORK CITY (TND) — An assault victim of Jordan Neely, the man killed Monday afternoon on the New York City Subway after his alleged harassment of other passengers led to a former Marine putting him in a chokehold, says Neely should have been in rehab and not on the street at the time of his death, according to a new report.

Filemon Castillo Baltazar, 68, who was assaulted by Neely on the subway in 2019, told the New York Daily News that he wasn't sure if what the Marine did was right, but insisted he should not be arrested.

Everyone in different situations has reasons for what they do. The Marine shouldn't be punished. Who knows what that guy might have done to other people," Baltazar said of Neely, who he insisted "should have been in some rehab center."

Neely was ultimately charged with assaulting Baltazar and the case was eventually adjudicated, but the result was sealed, the NY Daily News reported.

Two years after the assault on Baltazar, Neely was once again arrested for punching a 67-year-old female in the face as she exited the New York City Subway system. Neely pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 months in an alternative-to-incarceration program that he could complete in order to get the charges reduced and face no jail time.

But, at the time of his death, Neely had a warrant out for his arrest when he skipped a court date to check up on Neely's progress in the program.

In addition to these assaults, Neely had been arrested around 40 times prior to his death Monday, the NY Daily News reported.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York declared Neely's death a homicide Wednesday, a medical term that does not necessarily always lead to charges.

The Marine involved in Neely's death was let go by police following the incident. Currently, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is still determining whether to charge him as of Friday.

New Yorkers took to the streets Thursday outside the Barclays Center where the Brooklyn Nets play to call for the Marine's arrest.

The man who murdered [Neely] needs to be prosecuted and held accountable," Chivona Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, said, according to WPIX. "Mayor Eric Adams needs to come up with a real plan to fight our health and homelessness problem here in New York City."