SoHo Karen Charged With Attempted Assault After Falsely Accusing Black Teen Of Theft
A 22-year-old California woman was arraigned and charged in criminal court on Saturday (Jan. 9) in New York City after she was seen in a viral video tackling a Black teen, accusing him of stealing her iPhone at a hotel in December.
Miya Ponsetto, dubbed the name SoHo Karen, was charged with attempted robbery, grand larceny, acting in a manner injurious to a child and two counts of attempted assault, according to an official statement from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.’s office, The Hill reports.
On Dec. 26, viral video footage showed Ponsetto accusing 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr., of stealing her missing iPhone, lunging at him and forcing him down on the ground. CBS News reports that Ponsetto was arrested Thursday (Jan. 7) in her home state of California in Ventura County. According to the news outlet, the New York Police Department flew detectives to California with a warrant for her arrest.
Judge Michael Frishman granted Ponsetto supervised release without monetary bail. In addition, Grammy award-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold and his son Keyon were granted orders of protection, the Washington Post adds.
The New York Post reports that Ponsetto has three open cases in California and will appear in court on March 29, 2021, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office notes.
During an interview with CBS's Gayle King, Ponsetto apologized for hurting Keyon’s feelings, but defended her actions in the same breath.
“I admit, yes, I could have approached the situation differently or maybe not yelled at him like that. And made him feel sort of...inferior. Making him feel as if I was hurting his feelings. That was not my intention,” she said .
Moments later, she said: “I apologized. Can we move on? I'm a 22-year-old girl. How is one girl accusing a guy about a phone a crime?”
