Man sentenced to 20 years for fatal hate crime stabbing at Midwood gas station
Last month, a jury found Popov, who was 17 at the time, guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime, menacing, criminal possession of weapon and aggravated harassment.
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A judge has sentenced Dmitry Popov to 20 years in prison for the 2023 death of 28-year-old O’Shea Sibley.
Last month, a jury found Popov, who was 17 at the time, guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime, menacing, criminal possession of weapon and aggravated harassment.
Popov was acquitted of the most serious charges, including second degree murder as a hate crime.
On Thursday, dozens of friends and family of Sibley packed the courtroom for the sentencing. Eight of then read tearful victim impact statements, detailing how Sibley’s death derailed their lives, careers, health, and sense of safety.
“I feel like I’ve been robbed of my joy,” said Malik Berry, one of Sibley’s close friends. Another good friend, Joshua Sanchez, said “life was altered that night by one person's decision,” he said, "by bigotry and hatred.”
Popov apologized to Sibley’s family and friends.
Sibley’s parents were also present but were too emotional to speak. His mother let out a loud cry in the courtroom.
Across the aisle, Popov’s mother and a handful of family members sat together. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez was also present in the courtroom.
This sentence comes three years after Popov, of Sheepshead Bay, stabbed Sibley in the heart during a confrontation between their two groups of friends at a Midwood gas station.
On July 29, 2023, Sibley and his friends, who are performing artists, were coming back from a day at the beach and started dancing to Beyonce while filling up their rental car, when Popov and a group of friends started yelling homophobic and racist slurs, according to trial testimonies.
Surveillance video of the incident showed Sibley and his friends wearing little more than swim trunks, arguing with Popov’s friends, when things escalated.
Throughout the trial, Popov’s defense attorney, Mark Pollard, argued he acted in self-defense, but witness testimony and surveillance video seemed to contradict that claim.
On Thursday, Pollard asked the judge to sentence Popov under Youthful Offender Status, arguing that 17-year-olds are not fully formed adults, who react impulsively and emotionally, but insisting Popov has evolved and matured in the last three years, and has shown genuine rehabilitation.
The jury deliberated for three days and asked the judge to re-read the law multiple times, as they weighed the nuances between murder as a hate crime and manslaughter as a hate crime, according to a juror who asked to remain anonymous.
