Woman who falsely accused Black teen of getting her cellphone in NYC lodge billed with hate crime
NEW YORK Town (NEXSTAR) — The woman who allegedly confronted a teenage boy, demanded his cell phone, falsely accused him of stealing it and tackled him in a Manhattan resort pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges towards her in court docket on Wednesday.
Miya Ponsetto was arraigned in court in Manhattan on Wednesday on expenses which include unlawful imprisonment as a detest crime, aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a youngster.
Ponsetto was at the Arlo Hotel in December when she got into a confrontation with the teen, stating he had stolen her mobile phone.
The boy’s father — jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold — captured the Dec. 26, 2020, incident on video.
The online video exhibits Ponsetto desire that the boy demonstrate to her that his cellphone is not hers.
Security video clip later on introduced by the NYPD showed Ponsetto frantically grabbed at the teen as he tried to get absent from her by the hotel’s entrance door. She then clutched him from guiding and each tumbled to the floor, the video clip showed.
Ponsetto’s cellular phone was later returned to the resort by an Uber driver. Critics on social media dubbed Ponsetto the “SoHo Karen.”
Harrold has insisted that he and his son, both equally of whom are Black, had been racially profiled by Ponsetto.
“Our son’s safety and protection, it issues,” Kat Rodriguez, the teen’s mother, explained.
Civil legal rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton joined the loved ones and Ben Crump, their lawyer, on Wednesday.
“Hate is in the actions and this, right now, founded a lawful precedent that we required in the town of New York,” he mentioned about the costs versus Ponsetto.
Ponsetto’s attorney identified as the expenses “a brazen and obvious overreach.” She has also been sued by the spouse and children of the then 14-12 months-old boy.
The Affiliated Press and WPIX contributed to this report.
