Suspect Pleads Not Guilty In Killing Of NYC Dancer

The New York Times reports:

The 17-year-old charged with murder as a hate crime in the fatal stabbing last month of a gay Black dancer at a Brooklyn gas station pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Friday.

The teenager, Dmitriy Popov, entered the plea in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, where he will be tried as an adult. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of murder. The hate crime count could increase any minimum sentence to 20 years from 15.

Justice Craig S. Walker ordered that Mr. Popov, in a bright blue hoodie, black jogging pants and white sneakers, continue to be held without bail at a juvenile detention center and he warned the teenager to stay out of trouble.

The New York Daily News reports:

Popov hurled homophobic slurs and anti-Black epithets at Sibley on July 29 before plunging a knife deep into his side, piercing his heart, authorities said. Popov surrendered with his lawyer on Aug. 4 after days on the lam during which he shaved his head and shut off his phone in a failed attempt to evade the law, prosecutors said. Police said that during a confrontation captured on surveillance video, Popov stabbed Sibley after a minutes-long standoff.

Sibley, 28, and his friends were returning from a trip to the Jersey Shore, and pulled over to get gas. They spent the next few minutes blaring Beyoncé songs and voguing — making exaggerated poses — near the gas pumps Popov and his friends, who were inside the station convenience store, stepped out to object, claiming the dancing offended their Muslim faith. Popov’s family has since said he is Christian.

The 17-year-old charged with murder as a hate crime in the fatal stabbing of O’Shae Sibley, a gay Black dancer, at a Brooklyn gas station last month pleaded not guilty on Friday. https://t.co/FgrvzXIbKr

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 11, 2023

The 17-year-old accused of fatally stabbing O’Shae Sibley while he was vogueing at a gas station claimed to be Muslim – but that’s not the truth, according to his family

Dmitriy Popov, is a “Christian boy,” born in the U.S. and his parents are Russianhttps://t.co/bKgob4p881

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 8, 2023