California Woman Who Falsely Accused Grammy Winning Black Musician’s Son Of Stealing iPhone Arrested

A woman, who was caught in a video tackling the teen son of Grammy-winning Jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold in a Manhattan hotel and falsely accusing him of stealing her iPhone, was arrested Thursday in California.

Harrold had shared the video of the Dec. 26 incident inside Arlo Hotel on Instagram, where the visibly agitated woman was seen confronting him. She can be seen pointing toward the teen’s pocket and demanding something be returned, apparently referring to her phone, as a hotel manager tried to calm the situation. Her phone was later found in an Uber.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) later released a security video that showed the woman desperately charging at the teen as he tried to get away from her through the hotel’s front door. She was seen pouncing on the teen before both of them tumbled to the ground.

Harrold’s video went viral and people slammed the woman for racially profiling the Black teen. The teen’s family demanded the woman be charged.

The police had ruled out the presence of any racial bias in the incident.

The woman, identified as 22-year-old Miya Ponsetto, was arrested Thursday by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office in the presence of detectives from the NYPD. Ponsetto is expected to face an attempted robbery charge, a police source told the New York Post.

Ponsetto’s attorney, Sharen Ghatan, told the Associated Press her client is "emotionally unwell" and remorseful following the confrontation with 14-year-old Keynon Harrold Jr.

Ghatan said, while speaking to Ponsetto, she found her to be "someone who’s unwell," and that she "lashed out" at the Black teen over the fear of the phone being stolen and declined her client’s actions being racially motivated. Ghatan said it "could have been anyone."