The woman who falsely accused jazz musician Keyon Harrold’s 14-year-old son of stealing her iPhone at a New York City hotel one week ago has been identified as Miya Ponsetto, a 22-year-old with a past criminal record.
Ponsetto falsely claimed that the boy, Keyon Jr., had stolen her iPhone at the Arlo Hotel in New York’s SoHo neighborhood on Dec. 26. The woman tackled the teen and attempted to check his pockets in a video captured by Keyon Sr.; that video has been viewed over 3 million times.
The Southern California woman had actually left her phone in an Uber, and it was returned to her after the driver dropped it off at the hotel.
Footage of the incident sparked national outrage and the NYPD is considering charging Ponsetto with assault, attempted robbery and grand larceny, after additional surveillance footage of the attack was discovered.
New details have been uncovered about Ponsetto, who spoke to CNN, saying she was concerned about the way she was portrayed in the video.
The so-called “SoHo Karen” was arrested 10 months prior to the attack, in February 2020, for causing a disturbance at a Beverly Hills hotel when she and her mother refused to leave. Ponsetto was charged for being drunk in public, and her mother was charged with battery on a police officer, TMZ reported.
Months later, in May, Ponsetto was charged with drunk driving. When police pulled her over in Malibu, California, for erratic driving, she refused to take a sobriety test and threw a “tantrum” when officers tried to handcuff her. Ponsetto was taken to jail, sentenced to three years of probation, and required to complete 30 hours of community service and a nine-month drug/alcohol counseling program.
Keyon Harrold Sr. told TMZ he and the teen’s mother are seeking a therapist for their son, whom they say has been traumatized by the incident.
“I have tried to instill dignity in my son. I’m trying to build his ego, because for so long egos of Black men have been shattered,” Harrold said.
Since the attack, the teen “wonders if he’s good enough to own an iPhone, or whether he’s out of place at a nice hotel,” his father said.
Harrold also said his son is showing fear of going to hotels, and is worried someone will come up and tackle him, or that he will be charged with a crime. The boy also told his father he felt like a criminal on the day of the incident, according to Harrold.
Ponsetto was spotted at a a McDonald’s in Piru, California, on Friday, Jan. 1, near her mother’s home.
When a photographer asked if she regretted her actions, she replied, “I’m good, thank you. Have a very good day. Take care of yourself.”
Ponsetto, who described herself as “Puerto Rican” to the cameraman, remains wanted by the NYPD.
Around 100,000 people have signed a petition urging Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. to bring charges against Ponsetto. The Harrold family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, demanded the case be prosecuted, saying, “If not, they’re part of the racial profiling as well. We know they would have prosecuted a Black adult tackling a white child.”
