Marine veteran Daniel Penny will continue to face manslaughter charges following the death of a homeless man on a subway car after a New York City judge declined to dismiss his case.

Penny is accused of involuntary manslaughter after defending fellow subway passengers from Jordan Neely, a homeless man with a history of mental illness who was threatening to kill everyone in the subway car. Penny kept the man in a chokehold in an effort to restrain him and is now facing the charges after the man lost consciousness and later died.

Judge Maxwell Wiley said that the evidence was “legally sufficient” to establish that the defendant “acted with both recklessness and criminal negligence.” Medical examiners determined that Neely was killed by the chokehold and accounted the death a homicide.

Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff, the lawyers who represent Penny, said in a statement that they disagreed with the decision to allow for the prosecution.

“While we disagree with the court's decision not to dismiss the indictment, we understand that the legal threshold to continue even an ill-conceived prosecution is very low,” they remarked. “We are confident that a jury, aware of Danny's actions in putting aside his own safety to protect the lives of his fellow riders, will deliver a just verdict. Danny is grateful for the continued prayers and support through this difficult process.”

Despite witnesses saying that Penny was a hero for his act, the twenty-five-year-old veteran faces up to fifteen years in prison if convicted on the charges. Penny has pleaded not guilty and stated that he did not intend to kill Neely, but merely acted to protect his fellow passengers from a violent man who was “insanely threatening.”

Witnesses who testified during the hearing all described the incident as terrifying. Some said they heard Penny ask for another passenger to call the police and did not see Neely gasp or say he could not breathe. Neely had been lunging within inches of passengers while saying “I want to hurt people,” as well as “I want to go to Rikers, I want to go to prison.”