article_snippet: Erika Menendez of Queens, was charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime.
article_snippet: Menendez, 33, was allowed Friday to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.
article_snippet: Queens District Attorney Richard Brown indicated Queens District Attorney Richard Brown would sentence Erika Menendez of Queens to 22 to 25 years in prison on April 29.
article_snippet: Conviction on the original charge would have resulted in a tougher sentence -- 25 years to life imprisonment, Meris Campbell, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said Saturday.
article_snippet: the district attorney's office accepted the plea because Erika Menendez of Queens promised not to appeal and because of Erika Menendez of Queens's "substantial psychiatric history and serious drug problem," Campbell said.
article_snippet: We are assured Erika Menendez of Queens'll serve a substantial amount of time behind bars.
article_snippet: Erika Menendez of Queens was recognized on a street in Brooklyn by a passerby who had seen Security video and called 911, police said.
article_snippet: A call and email to Erika Menendez of Queens's defense lawyer were not immediately returned Saturday.
highlights_snippet: Woman originally charged with murder as a hate crime pleaded guilty to manslaughter .