CNN
—
A teenager pleaded not guilty on Friday to second-degree murder as a hate crime in the killing of O’Shae Sibley, a 28-year-old professional dancer who was stabbed to death at a Brooklyn gas station after dancing to a Beyoncé song.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez on Thurdsay did not name the 17-year-old due to the teen’s age, he told reporters outside Brooklyn Supreme Court.
Gonzalez said a Brooklyn grand jury heard evidence in the case and returned the indictment of murder in the second degree as a hate crime, in addition to other charges, on Thursday.
Details of the indictment were not read in the brief court proceeding Friday, and CNN is working to obtain a copy of the indictment.
The family of the suspect – his mother and grandmother – were in court and declined comment to CNN. The teen gave them a thumbs up as he exited the courtroom.
Defense attorney Mark Henry Pollard is holding a post court briefing soon.
Because the murder charge is elevated as a hate crime, the defendant faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 25 years in jail to life if convicted, he said.
“The death of this young man is both tragic and senseless,” Gonzalez said. “O’Shae and his friends were allegedly targeted, because they were dancing, they were being themselves, dancing joyfully to Beyoncé music at a Brooklyn gas station, harming no one, and refusing to stop even when confronted with anti-Black and homophobic slurs demanding that they stop dancing.”
On July 29, Sibley was approached by a group of men who allegedly began shouting homophobic slurs. An altercation broke out and Sibley was stabbed in the chest. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“The entire community has been victimized by this senseless victimization of Mr. Sibley. This crime, while clearly impacting his family and loved ones, have impacted the entirety of Brooklyn, and the entirety of the city and I dare say the entire nation,” Gonzalez said.
“The allegations made against this 17-year-old are of tremendous import to this city and to this country and I’m assuring the community that we are taking this case very seriously and we’re going to make sure that justice prevails in this case.”
Many witnesses have come forward, according to the DA. “We believe that there were two groups confronting each other and the group that Mr. Sibley was in was the people who were being assailed with anti-gay and anti-Black statements,” Gonzalez said.
The DA refused to answer if any more people would be charged over the incident.
“O’Shae came to New York to follow his dream, like many New Yorkers,” Gonzalez said. “He came here, he was a choreographer, he was a dancer, he was here to shine a light on himself and really shine a light on this community and New York City and his light was shut off, he was killed, for senseless reasons that I think have to be addressed.”
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