Remember Miya Ponsetto? The woman who tackled a Black teen when she lost her phone strikes plea deal
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The California woman shown on video tackling the teen son of Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Keyon Harrold after falsely accusing the child of stealing her phone pleaded guilty to the heaviest charge against her, a felony hate crime. Miya Ponsetto pleaded guilty specifically to the charge of unlawful imprisonment in the second degree as a hate crime though she was also charged with aggravated harassment, District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Monday.
“Under the terms of the plea, Ponsetto will be required for two years to abide by the terms of her California probation stemming from a separate case, continue counseling, and avoid further interaction with the criminal justice system,” the district attorney’s office wrote in a news release. “Under the terms of the plea, Ponsetto will be required for two years to abide by the terms of her California probation stemming from a separate case, continue counseling, and avoid further interaction with the criminal justice system.”
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It’s only if Ponsetto doesn’t comply with the terms of her plea agreement that she faces state prison; the term would be between one-and-one-third and four years—a leniency she hasn’t exactly earned.
Ponsetto had three open cases in California in 2020 alone, Naomi Puzzello, a spokeswoman with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, confirmed last year. Ponsetto was charged with public intoxication when she, her mother, and a third person were involved in a physical altercation at a hotel on Feb. 28. She was charged with driving under the influence when a witness saw her drive away from a supermarket “clearly intoxicated” and responding officers spotted open containers of alcohol and marijuana in her car on May 29, Puzello said. Ponsetto was also charged with driving with a suspended license and, in a separate incident, resisting arrest, driving under the influence, and driving with a suspended license.
When questioned specifically about attacking the Black teen on Dec. 26, 2020, at Arlo SoHo hotel in Manhattan, she told journalist Gayle King: “I’m a 22-year-old girl. How is one girl accusing a guy about a phone a crime?”
King pushed Ponsetto on her defense. “You have to at least understand your actions that day,” the journalist said. “You seem to have attacked this teenager about the phone. And then it turned out he didn’t even have your phone. That’s the thing. You’re 22 years old, but you’re old enough to know better.” At that point, Ponsetto, seated next to her attorney, extended her hand forward and said, “Enough.”
District Attorney Bragg said in a statement: “Ms. Ponsetto displayed outrageous behavior. As a Black man, I have personally experienced racial profiling countless times in my life and I sympathize with the young man victimized in this incident. This plea ensures appropriate accountability for Ms. Ponsetto by addressing underlying causes for her behavior and ensuring this conduct does not reoccur.”
Both Ponsetto and the hotel later admitted their regrets in the incident, Ponsetto saying in her interview with King that she “could have approached the situation different.” The hotel apologized to Harrold and his son days after the initial incident in a statement emailed to Daily Kos.
“We’re deeply disheartened about the recent incident of baseless accusation, prejudice, and assault against an innocent guest of Arlo hotel,” the hotel said in the statement.
“In investigating the incident further, we’ve learned that the manager on duty promptly called the police regarding the woman’s conduct and that hotel security intervened to prevent further violence; still, more could have been done to de-escalate the dispute.
“No Arlo guest—or any person—should be subject to this kind of behavior. We want to apologize to Mr. Harrold and his son for this inexcusable experience, and have reached out to them directly to express our sincere regret and to offer help in dealing with this traumatic event.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump represents Harrold and his son in a lawsuit against the hotel, which initially allowed Ponsetto to make demands of the teen despite her having checked out of the hotel and no longer being a guest.
“When Miya Ponsetto couldn’t find her cell phone, she defaulted to blaming and assaulting an innocent Black teenager and was aided by the Arlo Hotel staff, who backed her up instead of defending their Black guest,” Crump said in his statement. “It’s highly disappointing that she was permitted to plea down, only receiving probation. We won’t change the culture until we hold people accountable for their outrageously bad behavior.”
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