Jordan Neely’s uncle released without bail in NYC credit card theft arrest

An uncle of subway chokehold victim Jordan Neely’s who was arrested for stealing credit cards was released Wednesday after his attorney said he’d been a “rock” for his grieving family.
Manhattan prosecutors sought to hold Christopher Neely, 44, on $10,000 bail because he is currently serving five years of probation on a 2019 grand larceny conviction and due to his rap sheet, which includes four felonies, eight misdemeanors and seven failures-to-appear in court.
He also had a warrant out for his arrest for violation his probation when he was busted Monday night near the near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Assistant District Attorney Evan Rufrano said at Neely’s Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment.
But Neely’s public defender, Gurmeet Singh, argued that his client had been a father figure to his late nephew – and that Jordan’s death on May 1 after ex-Marine Daniel Penny put him in a chokehold had exacted a tremendous toll on the family.
“I think it’s no secret … the family and Mr. Christopher Neely are going through a very, very tough period in their life,” Singh, of Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, told the court. “It’s been a very hard experience for the family, a very harrowing experience. Christopher Neely has been a rock for the family and is taking care of them.”
Christopher Neely was released from jail with no bail. Steven Hirsch
He’d planned to turn himself in on May 8 in the probation case, Singh said. But Jordan’s death torpedoed that, he claimed.
Neely – described by his attorney as a married professional chess player from Harlem – was released under supervision. He’s due back in court May 26.
Prosecutors said Neely was arrested 20 times since June 2022, while on probation, on charges of either grand larceny or criminal possession of stolen property for allegedly stealing people’s bags and wallets, then using their credit cards.
Rufrano said the DA’s office was moving forward with prosecuting three of the incidents — hitting Neely with a total 12 counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree and one count of resisting arrest — while the other cases need further investigation.
According to one of the criminal complaints against him, Neely in late January allegedly used a woman’s stolen American Express and Capitol One cards to buy wine at Morton Williams Wine & Spirits on Park Avenue. Investigators obtained surveillance footage from the store, and say Neely was the one at the counter.
Another time, in late April, Neely allegedly tried to use a woman’s stolen American Express in the Macy’s on West 34th Street, the complaint said. Store surveillance footage tied Neely to that crime as well, the complaint said.
Jordan Neely was choked to death on the subway. AP
When he was arrested, Neely had on him seven credit cards that bore different names, Rufrano said.
Police nabbed him near the bus terminal after he tried to run away from a member of the NYPD’s pickpocket team.
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He’d already had a warrant out for allegedly violating his probation after a 2019 grand larceny bust put him in prison for six months.
During his five years of probation, Neely failed to report four times and changed his address without telling his probation officer, prosecutors said.
After the hearing, Neely told The Post that he was sorry he’d committed so many crimes.
When asked if he planned to change his ways, he nodded his head.
On Sunday, Neely — who’s acted as the family’s mouthpiece since Jordan died — told The Post that he didn’t think Daniel Penny, the former Marine infantry squad leader who allegedly strangled his nephew after a subway confrontation, deserved a plea deal.
Penny, 24, has been charged with manslaughter and remains free on $100,000 bail.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg now has six months to secure an indictment against him before the case proceeds to trial, Penny’s lawyers have said.