Woman sentenced to 9 years for threatening gay club patrons
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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)-- A woman accused of threatening several men outside a gay nightclub in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood with a knife last year and calling them derogatory terms was sentenced to nine years in state prison today.
Pearly Martin, 30, was convicted in April of five counts of making criminal threats and other charges, but the jury hung on a hate crime enhancement.
According to court records, Martin and several other people confronted a group of five people as they were leaving Club OMG at 43 6th St. around 2 a.m. on April 25, 2016.
Prosecutors argued Martin made derogatory and offensive statements towards the victims and the gay community, and then threatened to kill the victims.
She chased them down the street, attempted to slash the tires on a vehicle and at one point cornered one defendant in the lobby of his apartment building nearby before he escaped, according to court records.
However Martin's attorney, John Kaman, argued that Martin, who identifies as bisexual, had thought one of the men was taking photos of her, and alleged that a club employee called her a racial slur when she objected.
He argued that her use of derogatory terms like "faggot" was reflective of the way she talked but not a sign of hate toward the LGBT community, of which she is a part.
Martin has remained in custody since her arrest, with bail set at $300,000.