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The woman who was filmed attacking and falsely accusing the teenage son of jazz musician Keyon Harrold of stealing his phone from a New York hotel has been arrested, police said.
Ventura County officers coordinated with the New York City Police Department to arrest Miya Ponsetto, 22, on a search warrant outside her home in Piru, Calif., On Thursday, according to the County Sheriff. Ventura.
A spokesperson for the Ventura County Sheriff told NBC News Thursday that Ponsetto did not stop her car after officers contacted her until it reached her home. Officers forcibly removed Ponsetto from the vehicle, saying she resisted arrest, refused to get out of the car and attempted to slam the car door on one of the MPs, the spokesperson said. Ponsetto’s charges weren’t immediately clear, but she awaits his extradition to New York.
In an interview Thursday, lawyer Sharon Ghatan said her client, who was not a guest at the hotel but intended to check in, briefly left her items unattended in the lobby when she went to pick up an item from Starbucks in the bathroom.
When she got out, Ponsetto realized her phone was missing and asked several people in the lobby, including an “Asian man,” if they had picked up his phone, Ghatan said.
The next people she interviewed were the Harrolds, who had just stepped off the elevator, Ghatan said. A one-minute viral video of the Dec. 26 incident showed Ponsetto accosting the Harrold family before reporting his missing phone to management.
Tensions escalated and Ponsetto allegedly attacked 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr.. New York Police said the father “suffered scratches to his hand,” but no other injuries were reported. Her father suggested that racial prejudice played a role in the altercation.
In an interview Thursday, Ghatan, who also represents Ponsetto in an unrelated case, doubled down on Ponsetto’s mental health issues and said the incident was “not a race issue.”
“She suffers from many anxiety attacks,” Ghatan said. “She was alone… 22 years old in a town she didn’t know, absolutely no one there and her phone had it all.”
Ghatan said she was concerned for Ponsetto’s well-being, saying she was “emotionally and mentally ill”.
On Tuesday, the lawyer confirmed that his client left his phone in an Uber. Ghatan said if the Uber driver had returned his phone 15 minutes earlier, the altercation would not have happened.
“She lost her mind for a hot minute. She’s sorry, “Ghatan said Tuesday.” Sadly, those poor Harrolds had to face the consequences. “
Ghatan added that her client wanted to “go ahead and put this behind her”.
Ponsetto was charged with public and battery poisoning over an incident at a Beverly Hills hotel on February 28, court documents show. She was also arrested on May 28 for driving under the influence in Van Nuys, Calif., According to court documents.
A hearing for the charges related to the Beverly Hills incident was scheduled for later this month, Ghatan said. In September, a judge at the Van Nuys West courthouse sentenced Ponsetto to 3 years summary probation after pleading no challenge for driving under the influence.
Ghatan said she was unable to reach civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who represents the Harrold family.
More than 100,000 people have signed an online petition published by civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, which called on Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to lay assault and assault charges against Ponsetto .
“Keyon Harrold Jr. will live with this trauma for life, the weight of racism on the shoulders of another generation,” Crump wrote in a statement. “He deserves better than this treatment!”
A spokesperson for the Manhattan DA previously said the office is “fully investigating this incident.”
At a press conference last Wednesday, Harrold, accompanied by Crump and Reverend Al Sharpton, spoke publicly about the incident.
“I can’t even go down to New York City – New York City – and just go to brunch without being attacked and falsely accused of something,” Harrold said. “The idea of trauma goes above any accusation that could ever be made.”
“I want my son to grow whole,” said Harrold.
In an interview with “Good Morning America” on December 29, Harrold Jr. said he was “shocked” by the incident.
“I would ask her why would she do something like this to a kid who has never met you at all and I would just ask her why,” he said.
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