'SoHo Karen' Miya Ponsetto Arrested In Ventura County For Falsely Accusing Black Teen Of Stealing Cell Phone
VENTURA (CBSLA) – Miya Ponsetto, a woman who was caught on video last month tackling a Black teenager at a New York City hotel -- after falsely accusing him of stealing her cell phone -- has been arrested in Ventura County.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office reported that the 22-year-old Ponsetto was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant outside her home in the town of Piru Thursday afternoon.
According to the sheriff's office, a little before 4:30 p.m. deputies attempted to pull Ponsetto over as she was driving, but she refused to stop. When she reached her home on Marina Circle, she refused to get out of her car and had to be forcibly removed.
Investigators with the New York Police Department flew in to Ventura County Thursday morning to assist with the arrest, the sheriff's office reported.
She is being held in a Ventura County jail without bail and is expected to appear in court for an extradition hearing Friday.
According to CBS New York, on Dec. 26, Ponsetto is accused of attacking 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. and his father inside the lobby of the Arlo Hotel in New York City. The entire incident was captured on cell phone and surveillance video.
An Uber driver later found the woman's phone in his car returned it to the hotel, according to CBS New York.
On Saturday, December 26, the woman in this video falsely accused an innocent 14-year-old teenager of stealing her cellphone. She then proceeded to physically attack him and fled the location before police officers arrived on scene. pic.twitter.com/qtZZWetBWH
— Chief Kenneth Corey (@NYPDChiefOfDept) December 31, 2020
In an interview with CBS This Morning's Gayle King which was conducted just a few hours before the arrest, Ponsetto claims that she wasn't targeting Harrold.
"I was approaching the people that had been exiting the hotel, because in my mind, anybody exiting is probably the one, might be the one, that is trying to steal my phone," Ponsetto said. "I admit yes, I could have approached the situation differently, or maybe not yelled at him like that and made him feel, some sort of, inferior way, making him feel as if I was like, hurting his feelings because that's not my intention. I consider myself to be super sweet, I really never ever meant for it to like hurt him or his father either."
The 22-year-old woman caught on camera allegedly physically attacking a 14-year-old Black teen and falsely accusing him of stealing her phone was arrested in California.
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 8, 2021
In an exclusive interview, Miya Ponsetto and her lawyer spoke with @GayleKing hours before she was arrested. pic.twitter.com/ezaGkcWZ8j