Woman Who Falsely Accused Black Teen Of Stealing Her Phone Charged With Hate Crime

A court has charged a California woman with a hate crime, months after she wrongly accused a Black teenager of stealing her cell phone at a New York City hotel.

The woman, Miya Ponsetto, was arraigned in court in Manhattan via videoconference Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, Ponsetto pleaded not guilty to four charges, including endangering a child’s welfare and aggravated harassment. She is currently on supervised release but will appear in court again on Oct. 20.

In December 2020, Ponsetto got into a confrontation with 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. at the lobby of Manhattan’s Arlo Hotel. In the exchange, the woman chased the teenager and grabbed him after accusing him of taking her cell phone.

Video footage of the incident posted by the teen’s father, Grammy winner and trumpeter Keyon Harrold, had shown Ponsetto tackling the teen and saying that she will not let the victim go “with my phone.”

Following a probe, investigators revealed that Ponsetto’s phone was found in an Uber taxi soon after the incident. She was arrested earlier in January but was later put on supervised release.

BBC News reported that Keyon’s legal team and family were pleased with the decision of the New York grand jury that indicted Ponsetto.

On the other hand, Ponsetto’s attorney, Paul D’Emilia, said in a statement that the charges were “absurd and a perversion of our legal system.” He insisted that the charges were a “clear overreach of the intent of the statute” and added that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance opted for an “opportunistic path” in the indictment.

D’Emilia further stated that Vance and his office were focusing on “a distraught and panicked young woman” instead of violent criminals across New York City, NBC News reported.

Days before her arrest, Ponsetto appeared on “CBS This Morning.” In the interview with co-host Gayle King, Ponsetto pointed out that she “wasn’t racial profiling” Keyon, contrary to accusations across social media after footage of the incident went viral.

She appeared to apologize at times during the interview, but insisted that like Keyon, she went through a lot due to the ordeal.

When King mentioned the reports that an Uber driver returned Ponsetto’s phone to her soon after the incident, the woman said that the hotel receptionist, not the driver, returned her phone.

During the conversation, King pointed out that Ponsetto seemed “to be not remorseful.”

Attorney Sharen Ghatan, who was with the woman during the interview, said the 22-year-old suspect “went off script.”