Ventura County woman who wrongly accused Black teen of taking her phone doesn’t get prison time

A Ventura County lady who wrongly accused a Black teen of taking her telephone at a New York Metropolis lodge, grabbing at him as he tried to depart, has reached a plea deal that spares her from jail if she avoids hassle.

Miya Ponsetto, 23, pleaded responsible Monday to illegal imprisonment as a hate crime, a felony, however could have an opportunity to replead to a misdemeanor aggravated harassment cost if she follows the phrases of the settlement.

For that to occur, Ponsetto should abide by the phrases of her probation for a separate drunk driving and resisting arrest case in her dwelling state for 2 years, proceed to obtain counseling and haven’t any additional arrests. If she doesn’t comply, she faces as much as 4 years in jail, prosecutors stated.

“Miya Ponsetto has been main an exemplary life since this incident with the younger man near a 12 months and a half in the past,” Ponsetto’s lawyer, Paul D’Emilia, stated.

“We’re appreciative of the district legal professional’s considerate and empathetic method to discovering a suitable conclusion — particularly in gentle of the unreasonable strain dropped at bear by many voices not acquainted with the extra granular particulars of what occurred that night,” D’Emilia stated.

Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg stated Ponsetto’s plea settlement “ensures acceptable accountability” by addressing the underlying causes for her conduct and guaranteeing that it doesn’t reoccur.

“Ms. Ponsetto displayed outrageous conduct,” Bragg stated in a press release. “As a Black man, I’ve personally skilled racial profiling numerous instances in my life and I sympathize with the younger man victimized on this incident.”

Video confirmed Ponsetto grabbing at 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. as he tried to get away after she accused him of stealing her telephone on the Arlo Resort in Manhattan in December 2020. The telephone was discovered quickly afterward in an Uber.

The teenager’s father, jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold, recorded the confrontation and put the video on-line. In it, Ponsetto is seen demanding the teenager’s telephone, claiming he stole it. A lodge supervisor tries to intervene. Keyon Harrold may be heard within the recording telling the girl to depart his son alone.

Safety video later launched by the NYPD reveals Ponsetto frantically grabbing on the teen as he tried to get away from her by way of the lodge’s entrance door. She’s seen clutching him from behind earlier than each tumble to the bottom.

Ponsetto, of Piru, California, initially appeared to apologize, however later backed off in a tense interview on a morning CBS information present. The teenager’s household filed a lawsuit in opposition to Ponsetto and the lodge, alleging racial profiling. The case is pending.

D’Emilia described the encounter as an “unlucky misunderstanding” and stated the misdemeanor harassment cost to which she’s going to plead if she stays out of hassle “extra realistically displays her actions that evening on the Arlo Resort.”

“It’s Ms. Ponsetto’s want that Keyon Harrold accepts her regrets and apology for her conduct that night, and that each one concerned can transfer ahead with added perception and compassion,” D’Emilia stated.