SerpApi.Org
A New York judge has sentenced Dmitriy Popov to 20 years in prison for the 2023 killing of O’Shae Sibley, the 28-year-old Black gay dancer who was fatally stabbed after confronting a group of men who allegedly hurled anti-gay and racist slurs while he and his friends vogued to Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ album at a Brooklyn gas station.
Popov was convicted earlier in June of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, along with additional weapons and harassment charges.
Prosecutors argued that Popov and his friends initiated the confrontation after objecting to Sibley’s group dancing in public, with one member of Popov’s group shouting: “Get that gay s*** out of here,” according to prosecutors.
While others began walking away, prosecutors said Popov continued taunting Sibley before threatening one of his friends with a knife.
The confrontation escalated, and Popov fatally stabbed Sibley, who died on 29 July, 2023. Popov, who was 17 at the time, claimed he acted in self-defence and denied using slurs.
The jury acquitted him of murder but found that bias motivated the killing, leading to the hate crime conviction.
In addition to his prison term, Popov will also serve five years of post-release supervision.
Following the sentencing, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Sibley was targeted simply for “being himself” and vowed to continue aggressively prosecuting crimes motivated by hate.
As per The Advocate, Kei Williams, executive director of the NEW Pride Agenda, in a statement, urged people to remember Sibley not for the violence that ended his life, but for the joy he brought to others as a talented dancer and a proud Black gay man whose love of music, dance, and self-expression inspired countless people.
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