In what originally had been investigated as a potential hate crime, leading to years in prison, a woman pleaded guilty Friday to assault and appeared to face as little as a few more days in jail.

In a low voice, Suzanne-Deanna Grover, 21, admitted to State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller that she stabbed Lindsay C. Harmon in the eye Jan. 1 in the parking lot of a downtown bistro.

Boller had been preparing to begin a hearing on allegations about Grover's statements to police.

Grover will remain free on $25,000 bail pending sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 19.

Boller told Grover he is considering a "slip" sentencing of six months in jail and five years' probation. Court officials said Grover, who was arrested Jan. 20, is likely to spend little time behind bars because she had been incarcerated for more than four months before posting bail.

Grover, who grew up in the city's Riverside area but now lives on Lisbon Avenue, declined to comment as she left court with several friends and Debra K. Bender, her attorney.

Grover initially contended she was defending herself when she assaulted Harmon, saying Harmon and several others began "kicking and stomping" her after an altercation in the parking lot of Roxie's.

Earlier this week, prosecutors had told Bender that Harmon would not consent to a plea to a charge lower than assault, on which Grover had been indicted, court officials confirmed.

The victim was not in court Friday, and the judge warned Grover that if she gets into any further trouble with the law before sentencing, she likely would face a prison term of up to seven years.

Police initially examined allegations that Grover had directed sexual epithets at Harmon, 29, who has lost sight in her right eye.

But a grand jury rejected hate-crime charges.

Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III told The Buffalo News months ago that prosecutor Michael J. Flaherty Jr., one of his top aides, had presented "every known and available eyewitness" to the grand jury, which found "no reasonable cause to believe" the victim's sexual orientation had motivated the attack.

mgryta@buffnews.comnull