A 20-year-old man, Dmitriy Popov, is on trial for the July 29, 2023, killing of O'Shae Sibley in Brooklyn, charged as a hate crime. Popov testified that he never yelled slurs before stabbing Sibley and denied calling him and his friends “f-ing f--ts” and using the N-word. He said he stabbed Sibley in the heart because he was scared and overwhelmed by a confrontation started by a friend. Witnesses testified that they heard him use vile epithets. Sibley and friends were dancing at a Mobil station after a day at the Jersey Shore. Popov and friends went to get food, a confrontation followed, and Popov recorded on his phone before the stabbing.
"Dmitriy Popov, now 20, who is on trial for murder as a hate crime for the July 29, 2023, killing of O'Shae Sibley, took the stand in his own defense Wednesday. He told the Brooklyn Supreme Court jury he stabbed the professional dancer in the heart because he was scared and overwhelmed by the ugly confrontation one of his pals started. When Senior Assistant District Attorney Sarah Jafari confronted him with his alleged own words - that he called the victim and his friends "f-ing f--ts" and used the N-word, he denied it."
""Is that your testimony that they all lied, and you're the only one telling the truth?" the prosecutor asked, to which Popov responded, quietly, "Yes." Popov insisted he never yelled any slurs before the killing - even though six separate witnesses testified they heard him call the victim vile epithets."
"Sibley, 28, and four of his friends were dressed in bathing suits and, in one case, just a jock strap, when they pulled into the Mobil station on Coney Island Ave. near Avenue P in Midwood after a summer day at the Jersey Shore, and started dancing and voguing to Beyoncé. Popov, then 17, and two of his friends headed over to the Mobil station and the attached Bolla Market to get something to eat, and one of those pals saw the group of men dancing and started yelling anti-gay slurs, while Popov recorded with his phone."
"The two groups split up, but Popov stood outside and kept recording, sparking a second confrontation, which ended with the teen plunging a five-and-a-half-inch steak knife blade into Sibley's heart. On Wednesday, Popov told jurors that he was carrying the knife in the pocket of his gym shorts all day - something he regularly did after he'd been jumped a month earlier - but didn't worry about getting cut by the bare blade."
Read at The Mercury News
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