"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.
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.
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