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Miya Ponsetto, the woman wanted for falsely accusing a teenager of stealing his smartphone and physically assaulting him at a New York hotel, has been arrested in California after fleeing authorities.
Ponsetto fled the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department after attempting to make a traffic stop on the New York arrest warrant, officials said.
The department said it had to follow her as she refused to stop, slowly passing through her neighborhood in Piru, California.
When arrested outside a house, she fought and resisted arrest, where she had to be physically immobilized and arrested by lawmakers, authorities told ABC News.
Keyon Harrold, a Grammy-winning trumpet player, was with his 14-year-old son at the Arlo SoHo hotel in New York City last month, where they were staying, when he said Ponsetto approached his son in the lobby for the ‘accuse of stealing his phone. Harrold recorded video of part of the incident on his phone.
“We’ve been basically targeted, and the lady in the video is screaming… erratically that my son has picked up his phone somehow,” Harrold told ABC News.
In the video recorded by Harrold, the woman could be seen yelling at the teenager and pouncing on him during the incident on December 26. Harrold’s son could also be heard denying stealing the phone.
“I was confused. I mean, I don’t know what would have happened if my dad wasn’t around, honestly,” Keyon Harrold Jr. told “Good Morning America” last month. “The last few days, still a little shocked. But I’m still hooked in this.”
Ponsetto is being held without bail because all of the out-of-state warrants are in Ventura County. She will have an extradition hearing. She is not yet on the prison list, but she is being held under a fugitive warrant outside New York.
She was also arrested last year in Beverly Hills, Calif., For public intoxication.
“As this year of racial awareness draws to a close, it is deeply disturbing that incidents like this one, in which a black child is viewed and treated as a criminal, continue to occur,” said the National civil rights lawyer Ben Crump in a statement. statement following the incident.
The woman’s cell phone was reportedly found later Saturday by an Uber driver, according to Crump.
On Thursday evening, Miya Ponsetto’s former lawyer Sharen Ghatan said in a statement to ABC News: “I had a face-to-face meeting with Miya today and I am extremely concerned about her mental state. It is clear that she is emotionally ill.
She left a national news program and has been in secret ever since. I have just been informed by another media source that she may have been arrested at her home earlier this evening. It is difficult to work with a client who explicitly ignores legal advice. “
Crump also shared a statement on Twitter, on behalf of Harrold Jr.’s parents, accusing Ponsetto of committing an act of racism that was only activated and fueled by the staff at the Arlo Hotel.
“This is not an apology from someone who claimed a few days ago that she had done nothing wrong, and in fact, that Keyon Harrold Sr. had assaulted her. . Someone who has targeted a 14 year old black child because of the color of This is a significant societal change. It is a system that tolerates and encourages racial profiling and holds black people guilty until they are innocent, ”the statement said. “A system that exists and thrives on institutions like the Arlo hotel that allows the disturbing behavior of people like Miya Ponsetto, and instead of stopping the racist attack on our son, has thrown gasoline on the fire . “
The parents of the victim added that they hope Ponsetto will be charged with assaulting their child.
“We are not interested in what she has to say, in her false remorse, and we certainly will not provide her with a public platform and an audience to do as much,” they added. “Our energy at this time is directed towards healing our son and calling attention to the larger societal issues that have led to the disgusting physical and verbal attack that continues to traumatize our family. It should never have happened. But the fact of the We pray that this is not in vain and brings us closer to living in a world where a 14 year old black child can have brunch with his father without risking being profiled, targeted, falsely accused, and physically attacked. “
Police released Ponsetto’s cup on Thursday evening.
According to the police report, sheriff’s deputies contacted her during a traffic stop near her home. “She did not stop for the deputies until she reached her residence, and she refused to get out of the car. The deputies forcibly removed her from the vehicle and arrested her for the warrant. pending, ”the report said. “New York Police Department detectives arrived in Ventura County Thursday morning to help coordinate the arrest.”
Ponsetto was recorded at the Ventura County Remand Center, where she is being held without bond for the fugitive warrant, police said. She will remain in detention pending an extradition hearing.
In a Friday morning interview with “Good Morning America,” Harrold Jr.’s parents said they were grateful to Ponsetto for being arrested.
“She should have been arrested last week,” her mother said. “She should have been arrested a long time ago, but I am grateful that she was arrested.”
Harrold Jr. agreed. “I am very grateful that they finally apprehended her,” he said. “I am happy that justice is served.”
Harrold Jr.’s father said the boy started seeing a therapist to recover from the trauma.
“I think it’s important not only for [the] Harrows, but it is important for all of America that we see equal justice, that when people are falsely accused, whether it is a black person also accused by a white person, that white person is held responsible for lying – especially if that is carried out with physical violence as we’ve seen with this, ”Crump said.
Crump and Harrold Jr.’s parents continued to accuse hotel staff of wrongdoing, saying the situation would not have escalated if they had stepped in and done the right thing.
“I haven’t been able to sleep since December 26th. So I feel it tonight. At least I can get something, but it’s a start, ”the boy’s mother said. “Once someone is arrested, it doesn’t mean anything. The system has failed … us, our community. So, we have to keep pushing.”
“It doesn’t stop … it’s a daily struggle, and the reality is that this woman has a propensity for violence,” she added. “And the hotel allowed him to do that. And so it doesn’t just end with his arrest. We have to change the narrative. And it’s coming from all parties involved.”
ABC News’ Haley Yamada and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
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