Daniel Pennys sister, childhood friend describe embattled Marine as kind and peaceful at subway chokehold trial

Daniel Penny’s sister and childhood friend pleaded his case to jurors at his manslaughter trial Monday — describing the former Marine as a “calm and peaceful” surfing buff who earned a reputation for honesty in their tight-knit Long Island hometown.“People always spoke so highly of him,” Alexandra Fay, who grew up on the same block as Penny in beachside West Islip, told Manhattan jurors of her one-time neighbor, who is charged with “recklessly” choking homeless man Jordan Neely to death on a subway train last May.“He was so kind.If anything he was extra kind … He always spoke up,” Fay added, grinning in the direction of Penny, 26, who sat at the defense table in Manhattan Supreme Court.Penny’s older sister, Jacqueline Penny, entered the courtroom smiling as well, before describing her brother as a “smart” and “focused” student who played the upright bass in their high school orchestra, starred on the lacrosse team and “likes to surf as a hobby.”“We had similar friends, similar friend groups, hung out with similar people,” testified Jacqueline, who goes by “Jackie,” and who was the first witness called by the defense after prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office rested their case Monday afternoon.“He was always very sweet to my friends and I was friendly with his friends as well,” she said.Daniel Penny also has a reputation within their family of being an “honest” and “calm and peaceful person,” his sister said.At the end of her stint on the stand, which lasted just 15 minutes, Jackie Penny was asked by her brother’s defense lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, “Do you not want to see anything bad happen to your brother?”“Yes,” she replied.“Is that why you’re testifying?” Kenniff continued.“Yes,” Jackie Penny answered.Kenniff also asked Penny’s sister and childhood friend whether they were surprised that Daniel enlisted to join the Marines after high school.“A little, because he w...