Miya Ponsetto is due in back in a New York court Monday after she falsely accused black teenager of stealing her iPhone.
‘Soho Karen’ Miya Ponsetto is due to appear in a New York court Monday after she falsely accused black teenager of stealing her iPhone.
Ponsetto, 22, of Piru, California, was arrested two weeks after the December 26 incident in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel.
She faces charges of attempted robbery, grand larceny, acting in a manner injurious to a child and two counts of attempted assault, according to police.
A video of Ponsetto´s confrontation with then-14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. was recorded and posted online by his father, jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold Sr.
The video shows an agitated woman demanding the teenager’s phone and accusing him of stealing it.
Harrold Jr.’s family on Wednesday filed a lawsuit alleging that Ponsetto and the hotel engaged in racial profiling.
They allege in the lawsuit filed in state court in Manhattan that Harrold Jr. was ‘violently accosted’ by Ponsetto and that hotel manager Chad Nathan helped her and demanded that the teenager turn over his phone for inspection.
After the incident, Ponsetto denied being racist and apologized to the teen for ‘making him feel inferior’ during a rambling interview with CBS This Morning’s Gayle King.
‘I admit, yes, I could have approached the situation differently or maybe not yelled at him like that and made him feel, you know, maybe — some sort of — uh — inferior way, making him feel as if I was like hurting his feelings, because that’s not my intention,’ Ponsetto said.
Lawyer Sharen Ghatan explained Ponsetto, who is from California, had been visiting her father in New York City for Christmas and was nervous about being alone in a strange city
The NYPD released surveillance footage of Ponsetto tackling Keyon Jr to the ground in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel after she accused him of stealing her iPhone
Paul D´Emilia, an attorney for Ponsetto, said in an email that Ponsetto is at home in California and has not been informed of any lawsuit.
Security video released by police shows Ponsetto grabbing at Harrold as he tries to get away from her through the hotel’s front door.
‘Defendants treated Plaintiffs differently from other guests and invitees in a place of public accommodation because of their race,’ the lawsuit states.
In addition to Ponsetto and Nathan and the Arlo Soho LLC, the suit names Quadrum Hospitality Group LLC and 2REN LLC as defendants. Messages seeking comment were left with the hotel and the corporate entities.
A video of Ponsetto´s confrontation with then-14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr., left, was recorded and posted online by his father, jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold Sr, right
Keyon Harrold Jr’s parents – dad Keyon Sr., left, and mom Katty Rodriguez, center – have filed a lawsuit alleging that Ponsetto and the hotel engaged in racial profiling
In January, a California judge dropped a misdemeanor count of public intoxication against Ponsetto, related to a February 2020 arrest.
Her mother, Nicole Ponsetto, pleaded no contest to battery on a police officer and public intoxication in the same incident.
She was sentenced to to 100 hours of community service and entered a 12-month diversion program.
They were both arrested after a drunken incident at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.
‘Soho Karen’ Miya Ponsetto, 22, touched down at Los Angeles International Airport with a drink in hand on Sunday afternoon after leaving New York, where she was arraigned on assault charges for attacking 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr, claiming he stole her phone
The new civil suit alleges: ‘On the day after Christmas, Keyon Harrold and Keyon Harrold, Jr. headed to a restaurant in the lobby of the Arlo Soho Hotel, where they had been staying, in order to have brunch.
‘As soon as they entered the lobby, they were suddenly confronted and racially profiled by defendants Chad Nathan and Miya Ponsetto.’
The lawsuit then accuses Ponsetto of chasing and tackling Harrold Jr. after she ‘disregarded all of the other non-African American individuals in the lobby.’
Nathan allegedly helped detain Harrold Jr. while hotel security guards stood idly by.
After the attack, Harrold, a Grammy-winning musician, called the police to report what had just occurred.
‘As a result of defendants actions, Plaintiffs have suffered loss and injury, including but not limited to physical and emotional pain and suffering, great mental distress, shock, fright, economic loss, humiliation, embarrassment, emotional distress, feelings of racial stigmatization, an increased sense of vulnerability, and unlawful deprivation of their protected rights to exercise and enjoy equal treatment….’
The lawsuit is seeking damages, as well as attorney’s fees and costs, but does not list a desired dollar amount.
