Hate crime verdict in O'Shae Sibley killing comes amid rise in anti-LGBTQ crimes
According to NYPD data, overall hate crimes are up 8.6% citywide compared with the same period last year.
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Nearly three years after gay dancer O'Shae Sibley was fatally stabbed following a confrontation at a Midwood gas station, a jury has found Dmitriy Popov guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime.
The jury also convicted Popov, 20, of menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and aggravated assault. He was acquitted of the most serious charges, including second-degree murder as a hate crime.
Joshua "Azul" Sanchez, one of Sibley's closest friends who was with Sibley the night he was stabbed in the heart, said the attack completely changed his life and shattered his sense of safety. He said the verdict feels like “half justice.”
"I don't know if somebody is looking at me with some ill intent just because I'm gay now," he said. "Before that, that thought was never in my mind, especially living in New York City."
Sibley, Sanchez and several friends, many of them performers, were returning from the beach on July 30, 2023, when they stopped at a gas station in Midwood and began dancing.
Prosecutors said Popov and his friends confronted the group, shouting homophobic and racist slurs, before the encounter turned violent.
Sibley, a professional dancer known throughout New York's ballroom and dance communities, was stabbed in the chest with a knife that Popov carried in his pocket.
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"He was always the life of the party. He was always a friend," Sanchez said of Sibley.
Following the verdict, defense attorney Mark Pollard maintained that Popov did not intend to kill Sibley and said he plans to appeal the manslaughter verdict.
"This young man did not intentionally murder Mr. Sibley," Pollard said.
The verdict comes during Pride Month and amid an increase in reported hate crimes targeting LGBTQ New Yorkers.
According to NYPD data, overall hate crimes are up 8.6% citywide compared with the same period last year.
Hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation have increased by more than 69% during the first half of this year compared with the same period last year.
"No one deserves this, and people should be safe living their lives and expressing themselves," said Audacia Ray, executive director of the NYC Anti-Violence Project.
The organization operates a 24-hour hotline for LGBTQ victims of violence. Ray says the statistics likely don’t reflect the whole picture.
"Hate crime statistics are difficult to track," Ray said. "We see incidents all the time that don't meet a legal definition of a hate crime, or that the person who's experienced it doesn't feel comfortable reporting, particularly to the police."
AVP also trains New Yorkers in de-escalation techniques to help prevent violent incidents.
Silbey’s friends, who have attended every single court date, say they hope the verdict serves as a reminder of the consequences of hate.
"There's bigger monsters than the LGBTQ community," he said. "We just want to live our life."
Popov faces between eight and 25 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30.
RELATED: NYPD: Suspect in fatal stabbing of O'Shae Sibley in police custody
