What you should know
The 17-year-old high school student arrested in the fatal stabbing of a professional dancer during an altercation at a gas station in New York City last month pleaded not guilty as he appeared before a judge a day after being indicted for murder as a hate crime. Dmitriy Popov, 17, of Brooklyn, appeared before a judge in Brooklyn Supreme Court on one count of second-degree murder as a hate crime, second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, first degree manslaughter, fourth degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and related charges. O’Shae Sibley, 28, a professional dancer in New York and Philadelphia, was vogueing and dancing at a gas station when a group, according to witnesses, confronted him and stabbed him.
NEW YORK — The 17-year-old high school student arrested in the fatal stabbing of a professional dancer during an altercation at a gas station in New York City last month pleaded not guilty when appearing before a judge a day after being indicted. of murder as a hate crime.
Dmitriy Popov, 17, of Brooklyn, appeared before a judge in Brooklyn Supreme Court on one count of second degree murder as a hate crime, second degree murder, first degree manslaughter as a hate crime, first degree manslaughter degree, fourth degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and related charges. (Although Popov is a minor, authorities have released his name as he is being charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime.)
He was ordered held without bail and is scheduled to return to court on the 10th.
The teen turned himself in to authorities last Friday in connection with the murder of 28-year-old O’Shae Sibley, who was gay after days on the run. At that time the authorities refused to reveal the name of the defendant.
“The death of this young man is tragic and senseless,” Brooklyn County Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Thursday when he announced at a news conference that the young man has been indicted in Sibley’s death.
The district attorney explained that the murder will be prosecuted as a homicide and a hate crime.
The teen faces a minimum of 20 years in prison alone for the second-degree murder charge as a hate crime, and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.
González went on to say that anti-LGBTQ+ laws enacted across the country have led to an increase in hateful rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community.
Sibley’s case generated much controversy and Beyoncé has commented on it.
“REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY,” the singer’s website read.
O’Shae Sibley, 28, has worked professionally as a dancer in New York and Philadelphia, and belonged to various dance groups in the region. He was vogueing and dancing to Beyoncé’s music on Saturday night when a group of men approached him and, according to witnesses, told him to stop.
The teenager wanted in connection with the shocking death remained on the run for days.
Witnesses have said that the group did not like that Sibley and his friends were dancing and began making derogatory comments about his homosexuality.
According to the prosecution, Sibley tried to defuse the situation and he and his friends responded, “You don’t know us, we’re just having fun and enjoying our lives. Everything is respect, we are allowed to be here like you.
It is alleged that the defendant’s friends left at some point, but the defendant stayed outside the gas station convenience store, recording with his cell phone and allegedly continuing to antagonize the group with hateful comments.
When Sibley and two of his friends confronted the defendant, the young man allegedly reached into his pocket and pointed a knife at one of Sibley’s friends, threatening to stab him, prosecutors say. The defendant then allegedly stabbed Sibley in the side of the chest, piercing her heart, according to the evidence.
Sibley was pronounced dead at Maimonides Hospital a short time later.
“He had a problem with them dancing, he wanted them to stop dancing, he started arguing with them. And then after some fighting and arguing back and forth, he pulled out a knife and stabbed him,” witness Sayeda Haider said.
In a heartbreaking video posted on Facebook, Otis Peña recounts the final moments of his friend’s life.
“They killed him right in front of me,” Peña said. “I see him staggering and I had to run to him and hold his wound as blood dripped onto my hands, like blood on my clothes.”
“The death of this young man is horrific and really shows the status of being an LGBTQ person in America today,” said Tony Morrison, GLAAD’s senior director of communications.
Morrison said the murder underscores a rise in violence against members of the LGBTQ community across the country.
“We’ve seen bullying, vandalism, and now it manifests itself in physical harm, in this case, death,” Morrison said.
Her friends remember Sibley as a talented professional dancer. She danced with Ailey Extension, which released a statement calling Sibley an “appreciated and devoted participant” of her classes, bringing “incredible energy.”
“O’Shae was a beloved and devoted participant in our Ailey Extension dance class program. He had incredible energy in the studio and was held in high regard by instructors and peers.”
2023-08-11 20:59:30
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