The uncle of Jordan Neely, whose death by strangulation on the Tube sparked an outcry, has been arrested again on new grand theft charges a week after he appeared in court on similar offences.
Christopher Neely, 44, was arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly stealing a wallet last August, another in April, and stealing a $15,000 purse from a chair in a Manhattan restaurant on May 18.
He was charged with three counts of grand larceny in addition to the 12 counts he already faces.
It is the second time Neely has been handcuffed in 10 days as he was arrested on May 22 while trying to flee from the New York Police Department pickpocketing squad.
He appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 24 and was released without bond after his attorney argued his nephew’s death had cost him a ‘terrible toll’ and he could not go to jail because he was a “rock” for his family.
The uncle of Jordan Neely, whose death by strangulation on the Tube sparked an outcry, has been arrested on new grand larceny charges a week after he appeared in court for similar offenses
Christopher Neely, 44, was arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly stealing a wallet last August, another in April, and stealing a $15,000 purse from a chair in a restaurant on May 18.
He has been charged with three counts of grand larceny in addition to the 12 counts he already faces
Neely was previously arrested last Monday near the Port Authority bus station near Manhattan’s Garment District.
He was spotted by cops who recognized him as a known thief, sources told the New York Daily News, and he jumped the turnstile before being chased and caught by an officer around 11:35 p.m.
Neely was allegedly armed with a gravity knife and was carrying several bank cards in other people’s names.
And he had seven credit cards with different names in his possession, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Evan Rufrano said.
He was slapped with four felonies including possession of stolen property, resisting arrest, bail jumping and unlawful possession of a weapon. He was also charged with eight misdemeanors.
When he appeared in court last week, prosecutors asked that he be held on $10,000 bail.
Neely was previously arrested last Monday near the Port Authority Bus Terminal near Manhattan’s Garment District.
He was spotted by cops who recognized him as a known thief, sources told the New York Daily News.
“Christopher Neely has been a rock to the family and cares for them,” his attorney Gurmeet Singh said in Manhattan court last week.
They argued he had a warrant for allegedly breaching his five-year probation sentence following a grand theft case in 2019 for which he served six months in prison.
However, a judge released him on probation after his lawyer, Gurmeet Singh, claimed that Jordan’s death had had a terrible impact on his family, according to the New York Post.
“It was a very difficult experience for the family, a very painful experience,” the public defender told the court.
“Christopher Neely has been a rock to the family and cares for them.”
Neely was supposed to appear in court on Wednesday, but was arrested by authorities on new charges before he could appear.
“I don’t see Mr. Neely?” Judge Josh Hanshaft asked during the hearing.
It is the second time Neely has been handcuffed in 10 days as he was arrested on May 22 while trying to flee from the New York Police Department pickpocketing squad.
He appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 24 and was released without bond after his lawyer argued that his nephew’s death had cost him a “terrible toll”.
Neely leaves after being arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday
Singh said, “Mr. Neely, as I understand it, was arrested this morning. He is currently in custody.
Prosecutors say Neely stole a wallet from a woman on Aug. 19, 2022, then spent $8,650 on her credit cards.
And he is accused of stealing another victim’s wallet on East 82nd Street in April and a $15,000 purse from a Mexican restaurant on Church Street in Tribeca this month.
His trial was postponed to July 19 following his arrest.
Prosecutors revealed that Neely had been arrested at least 20 times since June 2022, while on probation, for grand larceny or criminal possession of stolen property.
He has two dozen previous convictions, including for rape, robbery and burglary. He was also wanted on an outstanding grand larceny charge – which had breached his probation in an earlier case.
His nephew Jordan’s funeral took place last Friday in Harlem.
Politicians attended, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who claimed Jordan had been “murdered”.
On May 1, Penny put Neely in a fatal chokehold on a New York City subway
Jordan, who has previous convictions for assaulting subway passengers, was restrained by Penny after he allegedly threatened people in the train car.
Penny put him in a chokehold on the F train at Broadway-Lafayette Street and Bleecker Street station on May 1.
The former Marine has since been charged with second-degree manslaughter and released on $100,000 bond following furious protests and accusations of racism.
Penny broke her silence on Saturday to say Neely’s death had nothing to do with race, saying he did what he believed was right and would behave the same if he did. found himself in the same situation again.
