BROOKLYN (WABC) — A sentencing hearing is underway in Brooklyn for the man convicted in the fatal stabbing of a Black dancer in 2023.
O’Shea Sibley was killed during an attack at a gas station in Midwood. Prosecutors said it was because Sibley was gay.
On Thursday, the victim’s family and friends are remembering him in court before the judge hands down the sentence.
Last month, a jury found Dmitriy Popov guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime.
Popov, who was 17 at the time of the killing, testified at trial that he was just defending himself when he stabbed Sibley, who was 28.
Sibley and his friends had stopped at the gas station after a beach outing on July 29, 2023. When they were pumping gas, one of them began dancing, drawing the attention of a nearby group of young men and teenagers.
Some of the people in that group began taunting and jeering at the dancing men, some of whom were shirtless and wearing bathing suits.
The two groups argued for about two minutes, then started to go their separate ways. Sibley’s group went back to their car. Most of the other men went back inside the gas station – except for Popov.
Witnesses testified at trial that Popov shouted insults as he recorded with his phone. He denied using any bigoted language.
Sibley then confronted Popov again, lunging around a man who tried to step between the pair. Popov testified that Sibley chased him and punched him in the head. The security camera video didn’t show the blow, but Popov testified that he stabbed Sibley with a 5-and-a-half-inch blade as he tried to protect himself.
Popov faces up to 25 years behind bars.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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