'SoHo Karen' Miya Ponsetto pleads guilty to falsely accusing Black teen of stealing cell phone
A Ventura County woman who falsely accused a Black teenager of stealing her cell phone at a New York City hotel in December of 2020 reached a plea deal that will see her avoid jail time.
Miya Ponsetto, 23, pleaded guilty pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment in the second degree as a hate crime and misdemeanor aggravated harassment in the second degree, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office confirmed to CBS News.
Under her plea deal, she will serve two-years of probation, CBS News reports. She must also follow the terms of probation from a separate California case. If she fails to comply, she could receive up to four years in prison.
On Dec. 26, 2020, Ponsetto attacked then 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. and his father inside the lobby of the Arlo Hotel in New York City. She accused Harrold Jr. of stealing her cell phone and then tackled him to the ground.
A hotel manager also approached Harrold and asked to see the phone, which he did not have. An Uber driver later found Ponsetto's phone in his car returned it to the hotel, according to CBS New York.
The entire incident was captured on cell phone and surveillance video. It earned her the moniker "SoHo Karen."
A few weeks later, on Jan. 7, 2021, Ponsetto was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant outside her home in the Ventura County town of Piru after leading deputies on a short pursuit when she refused to initially pull over.
In an interview with CBS This Morning's Gayle King which was conducted just a few hours before her arrest, Ponsetto claims that she wasn't targeting Harrold.
"I was approaching the people that had been exiting the hotel, because in my mind, anybody exiting is probably the one, might be the one, that is trying to steal my phone," Ponsetto said. "I admit yes, I could have approached the situation differently, or maybe not yelled at him like that and made him feel, some sort of, inferior way, making him feel as if I was like, hurting his feelings because that's not my intention. I consider myself to be super sweet, I really never ever meant for it to like hurt him or his father either."
