For the second time in as many weeks and the 20th time since last June, the uncle of the late Jordan Neely has been arrested, this time on suspicion of grand larceny. Despite his frequent arrests, he was still given release under supervision.
Last week, TheBlaze reported that Christopher Neely, 44, had been arrested for possession of stolen credit cards, grand larceny, and jumping bail. At around 11:15 p.m. on May 21, Neely had been recognized by a member of the NYPD pickpocketing team at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan and arrested after he tried to evade capture. He later identified himself as an uncle of Jordan Neely, the 30-year-old homeless man who infamously died on a New York City subway a month ago after former Marine Daniel Penny allegedly subdued him in a choke hold for repeatedly harassing other riders.
At the time of his arrest on May 21, Christopher Neely had an outstanding warrant for allegedly violating parole after he served six months for a grand larceny conviction in 2019. Because of his alleged parole violation, prosecutors requested that he be held on $10,000 bail for the latest charges.
However, his public defender, Gurmeet Singh of Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, made an emotional plea for cashless bail. The death of Jordan Neely has “been a very hard experience for the family, a very harrowing experience,” Singh told the court. “Christopher Neely has been a rock for the family and is taking care of them.” The judge agreed and released Christopher Neely under supervision.
Prosecutors may have been vindicated, as Christopher Neely was arrested again on Wednesday morning, just 10 days after he was released under supervision. Neely has now been accused of stealing a wallet from a woman last August and racking up more than $8,600 on her credit cards, stealing another wallet in April, and then nabbing a purse valued at $15,000 a few weeks later. The new charges, three counts of grand larceny, closely resemble the 12 charges currently pending against him.
Neely was scheduled to appear in court later that morning for the charges stemming from last week. When he failed in appear in court on Wednesday, Singh told Judge Josh Hanshaft: “Mr. Neely, from what I understand, was picked up this morning. He is in custody currently.” Hanshaft delayed the hearing for the May 21 charges until July 19. In a hearing on Thursday morning for the latest grand larceny charges, a judge once again granted Neely release under supervision.
Wednesday morning marked Neely’s 20th arrest since June 2022, and most of the charges against him are related to theft. In his lifetime, he has been arrested more than 70 times and even served time for rape, though most of his convictions are for robbery-related offenses.
His nephew Jordan, who suffered from mental illness, had been arrested more than 40 times and been accused of heinous crimes, including assault. Despite Jordan’s troubling history and his own lengthy rap sheet, Christopher Neely told prosecutors not to cut a deal with Penny, who is suspected of second-degree manslaughter in his nephew’s death. “I want this to go to trial,” Christopher Neely said. “[Penny] has too much confidence in himself and has to be taught what he did was wrong.”
* Article From: The Blaze