Woman who accuses Black teenager of stealing her phone, charged with attempted assault

Miya Ponsetto, the 22-year-old woman from California who tackled a black teenager and accused him of stealing her iPhone in December, was arrested in New York on Saturday and charged in criminal court.

Ponsetto is charged with attempted robbery, large larch, conduct in a manner harmful to a child and two charges of attempted assault, according to a statement from District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., in Manhattan, who The Hill acquired.

Judge Michael Frishman granted Ponsetto release under supervision without monetary bail. In addition, Grammy-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold and his son Keyon Harrold Jr., the 14-year-old victim who attacked Ponsetto, were granted protection orders.

Ponsetto was arrested in California on Thursday for her attack on the teenager at the Arlo SoHo boutique hotel in New York on December 26. Video footage of the incident released by police shows how Ponsetto accused Harrold of stealing her missing cellphone and then crashing into him. and was taken to the floor after telling her she was wrong.

According to The New York Times, Ponsetto’s phone later appeared at the hotel after an Uber driver returned it.

Ponsetto was transferred to NYPD custody shortly after her arrest, during which she resisted, CBS reported.

Although she has no criminal conviction, Ponsetto has three public cases in California, the district attorney’s office in Manhattan said. She will appear in court next time on March 29, 2021.

After the footage of the encounter, many accused of Ponsetto, called the ‘SoHo Karen’, profiled Harrold on race.

Ponsetto’s lawyer spoke in public on Thursday about the incident, saying the teenager’s race was not a motivating factor for her actions.

“The phone could have been in the hand of a 90-year-old grandmother, an Asian person … someone black or blue,” attorney Sharen Ghatan told NBC News. Her actions were due to the fact that she ‘lets her emotions get the best of her’ since she is’ young ‘,’ Ghatan added.

Ghatan did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

During a video interview with CBS Gayle KingGayle KingCBS News President Zirinsky wins National Press Club Fourth Estate Award The Hill’s Morning Report – presented by the UAE – US records 1 million COVID-19 cases in a week; governors hated Obama said his ‘initial instinct’ during Joe Wilson’s ’09 outburst was to ‘hit this man on the head’ MORE, Ponsetto apologized for hurting the boy’s feelings but defending her actions.

“Racism is …” Ponsetto began to say before stepping back, adding: “How does one girl accuse a guy over a phone of a crime?”

Ben Crump, the civil rights activist and lawyer who sued 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. represented, had earlier called for a “civil rights investigation” into the incident. Police told CBS News that they did not consider the case a prejudice.

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