Christopher Neely, uncle of Jordan Neely, was arrested this week after law enforcement officials had been searching for him for a string of larcenies.

The 44-year-old was caught after trying to run from New York Police Department officers, who recognized him as a suspect for “a robbery pattern,” the New York Daily News reported.

Christopher Neely was allegedly caught carrying credit cards from numerous victims, the report said. He was also armed with a gravity knife.

The New York Post reported that the arrest happened near the Port Authority Bus Terminal. He was wanted for allegedly stealing purses from restaurants.

He was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, resisting arrest, bail jumping, and unlawful possession of a weapon, the report said.

The Daily Mail reported that he had more than 70 prior arrests and had two active warrants for his arrest when he was taken into custody.

Christopher Neely’s arrest comes after he said that he does not want Daniel Penny, who put his nephew Jordan Neely in a chokehold that ultimately led to his death, to get a plea deal in the case.

“I want this to go to trial,” Christopher Neely said. “He has too much confidence in himself and has to be taught what he did was wrong.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

Penny, a 24-year-old former U.S. Marine, was charged with second degree manslaughter and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Penny said during a recent interview with the New York Post that the incident had nothing to do with race.

Penny placed Neely, a homeless man with over 40 arrests and a history of mental health issues, in a chokehold after Neely embarked on an aggressive rant and began screaming that he did not care if he went to jail.

“This had nothing to do with race,” he said. “I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist. I mean, it’s, it’s a little bit comical. Everybody who’s ever met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures. You can tell by my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened.”

Penny said he would not go into details of what happened because of his pending case, but said that the incident was unlike “anything I’d experienced before.”

The White House on Tuesday said invoking the 14th Amendment to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on $31 trillion debt won’t solve the national crisis after nearly a dozen left-wing Senators suggested President Joe Biden use such authority.

“It is not going to deal with the problem that we’re currently having at this moment, at this time,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “What we need to focus on is Congress acting.”

The Biden administration has warned that the U.S. could run out of money as soon as June 1.

The debt ceiling, a statute established by Congress that prevents the government from spending beyond a predetermined national debt limit of $31.4 trillion, exceeded the threshold earlier this year.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen affirmed in a letter that her agency expects to default as early as the first day of June unless lawmakers amend the debt limit. Republicans desire to link a temporary increase in the debt ceiling with spending caps, while Democrats say they prefer separate processes for debt limit negotiations and budget reforms.

Biden suggested invoking the 14th Amendment, which states the “validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned,” to raise the debt ceiling during a press conference on Sunday in Japan.

“I’m looking at the 14th Amendment as to whether or not we have the authority — I think we have the authority,” Biden said. “The question is, could it be done and invoked in time that it would not be appealed, and as a consequence, past the date in question and still default on the debt.”

“That is a question that I think is unresolved,” he added.

Biden said he would discuss the debt limit with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) via telephone from Air Force One as he returns home from Japan after the top Republican accused him of being beholden to “radical socialists” as a potential default looms.

McCarthy told lawmakers on Tuesday that Republican leaders are “nowhere near” a deal with the White House on the debt ceiling and asked fellow Republicans in a closed-door meeting to “hang with me on the debt limit.”

Following his remarks, Jean-Pierre dodged answering if the president had ruled out using the 14th Amendment directly and shifted the blame to members of Congress.

“This is up to lawmakers,” she said. “Understandably, the president wants any action to be strongly supported by the law, and that’s what you’ve heard him say.”

Jean-Pierre would not give a specific date that Americans could expect Biden and McCarthy to reach a deal for Congress to pass debt-ceiling legislation by June 1.

“I’m not going to get into dates,” Jean-Pierre said, “but what I can say is there is an urgency. We want to see this done as soon as possible.”

A default would likely cause a recession as the federal government, a major borrower of funds investors worldwide consider reliable, fails to repay obligations.

The national debt is a source of persistent financial risk for the United States and a damper on long-term economic growth. Elevated interest rates on the national debt have recently weighed on the budget as lawmakers are forced to devote more revenues toward servicing the obligations rather than funding programs.

Jeffrey Cawood and Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.