Popov testified in Brooklyn that he carried a small kitchen knife in his pocket after being jumped while walking home from work at a Midwood smoke shop. He said he planned to take out the knife just to show someone and that his intention was never to use it. Prosecutors alleged that on July 29, 2023, Popov stabbed O’Shae Sibley in the torso, puncturing his heart and killing him. Popov pleaded not guilty to murder as a hate crime and other charges and is being tried as an adult despite being 17 at the time. Prosecutors accused him of killing Sibley because he was Black and gay, after confrontations at a Midwood gas station involving queer men of color. Popov denied using slurs and said he pulled out the knife because he was scared and used it after Sibley punched him.
"He said he had started to carry a "small kitchen knife" in his pocket after he was jumped while walking home from his job at a Midwood smoke shop. If anyone tried to hurt him again, he said, he had planned to take out the knife "just to show somebody." "My intention was never to use it," Popov testified."
"But on July 29, 2023, Popov stabbed O'Shae Sibley in the torso, puncturing his heart and killing him, prosecutors alleged as they made their case in a trial that began May 11. The 20-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murder as a hate crime and other charges. He was 17 at the time but is being tried as an adult."
"Prosecutors have accused Popov of killing Sibley because he was Black and gay. Sibley and several friends, all queer men of color, had been dancing in their bathing suits at a Midwood gas station when Popov and his friends confronted the group and told them to leave, according to surveillance footage and testimony at trial."
"On the stand, Popov denied using any slurs or harboring any hatred toward Sibley. He said he pulled out the knife because he was scared, and that he used it after Sibley punched him. "Everything was happening so fast," he said. Popov's testimony is expected to continue Wednesday afternoon."
Read at Gothamist
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