The man who assisted Daniel Penny in restraining Jordan Neely claims that the Marine wasn't tight enough.

On Tuesday, the subway rider who helped Marine vet Daniel Penny hold down Jordan Neely on a Manhattan train testified in court, stating that he said aloud that Penny was not squeezing "tight enough" during the confrontation.

Despite initially providing a different account to detectives, he arrived after Penny had already apprehended Neely.

""I saw two individuals on the floor and assumed one was trying to restrain the other until the police arrived," said Eric Gonzales, a 39-year-old father of two. "Everyone was frantic and shouting, 'call the cops, call the cops,'" he added."

According to witnesses, Neely entered the train and threatened to kill someone.

When Gonzales arrived on the scene, he waved his hand in front of Penny's face to signal that he was joining in to assist, and then seized Neely's arms and held them.

"I testified that I said I would grab his hands so you could let go, providing him with an alternative way to restrain him until the police arrived. At the moment, I didn't think much about it, I was just giving him an option."

Despite Neely's struggles, the two held him down, waiting for the police. Gonzales urged Penny to loosen her grip, but later told her to tighten it.

"According to Gonzales, Jordan Neely tapped on someone kneeling near Penny's head and said, "Let me go," but Gonzales replied, "We're not going to let you go.""

In court, prosecutors presented a bystander video that depicted Gonzales telling Neely, "We won't release you until the police arrive."

Gonzales mentioned that another rider was providing commentary on a FaceTime call while the three struggled on the floor.

A defense attorney presents a motion for a mistrial in the subway chokehold death case of a Marine veteran.

Gonzales testified that at the time, we were struggling and he saw someone on FaceTime with his wife saying that if he had a poop stain on him, it meant he would die or pass out.

Neely was described by witnesses as smelling like soiled sweatpants when he entered the train and made threats. Gonazles stated that Neely acknowledged a brown stain on his pants, but it was old.

He had a dry stain on his pants, he stated.

He expressed his frustration with FaceTime as he felt he was speaking but not contributing.

"I was doing everything possible to essentially silence him," he stated. "At one point he told Daniel Penny not to hold too tightly or said he was holding too tightly. In an attempt to dismiss him and silence him, I said that Penny wasn't holding on tight enough."

Gonzales stated under cross-examination that he initially informed prosecutors that when he said Penny was not squeezing hard enough, he noticed a space between his arm and Neely's chin, and Penny's arm was resting on his chest, not around his throat.

The concern that he might "fight or escape" before police arrived was part of what he said when he was holding Neely down with two others. He later told detectives that Penny was restraining but not choking Neely, but on the stand, he backtracked and said he had only made "an assumption" and that Penny's arm was "against his neck."

Gonzales testified that at some point, Neely went limp and let go. Penny then let go shortly after, and Gonzales checked for a pulse and found one before stepping away.

He learned of Neely's death in a newspaper the following morning, when a coworker showed him he was in a photo at the scene.

Gonzales stated, "I used all my vacation time – in essence, I went into hiding."

A week after the incident, the police discovered him, and he subsequently met with an assistant district attorney (ADA). He testified that he was terrified of being accused of murder.

He lied to prosecutors, claiming he arrived at the altercation earlier than he actually did and that Neely hit him first.

"I lied to the ADA by fabricating a story that I was on-site when everything went down and Neely had struck me first."

At the time Penny first grabbed Neely, prosecutors already had photos of him at a turnstile.

"I was captured in a still photo as I was swiping my Metro card," he stated.

In the interview, he disclosed to prosecutors that he inquired about Neely's well-being after releasing him, to which Neely responded affirmatively.

He testified against Penny in exchange for immunity, he said later.

During the Gonzales interview, the defense inquired about the investigators' notes, stating that only a few had been disclosed in discovery. However, the prosecution asserted that they had handed over everything they possessed.

Despite the prosecution's immunity offer, Gonzales stated that he is still fearful about testifying on behalf of Penny, as he believes that he or his family may suffer harm if he does so.

If convicted of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, Penny could face up to 19 years in prison.