Miya Ponsetto, the woman wanted for allegedly falsely accusing a teenager of stealing his smartphone and physically attacking him inside a hotel in New York, was arrested in California after running away from local authorities.
Ponsetto fled the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department after he tried to stop traffic due to the New York arrest warrant, officials said.
The department said it had to follow her while she refused to stop, driving slowly through her neighborhood in Piru, California.
As soon as she stopped in front of a house, she fought and resisted arrest, where she had to be physically restrained and arrested by deputies, officials told ABC News.
Keyon Harrold, a Grammy-winning trumpeter, was with his 14-year-old son at the Arlo SoHo Hotel in New York last month, where they were staying, when he said that Ponsetto approached his son in the lobby to accuse him of stealing his phone. Harrold recorded a video of part of the incident on his phone.
“We were basically targets, and the lady in the video is screaming … erratically that my son somehow picked up her phone,” Harrold previously told ABC News.
In the video that Harrold recorded, the woman can be seen screaming at the teenager and charging at him during the December 26 incident. Harrold’s son can also be heard denying that he stole the phone.
“I’m confused. I mean, I don’t know what would have happened if my dad wasn’t there, honestly,” Keyon Harrold Jr. told “Good Morning America” last month. “In the last few days, I’m still in a state of shock. But I’m holding on.”
Ponsetto is being held without bail, as all out-of-state warrants are in Ventura County. She will have an extradition hearing. She is not yet on the list of prisoners, but is being held under the New York escape warrant.
She was also arrested last year in Beverly Hills, California, for public poisoning.
“As this year of racial awareness is coming to an end, it is deeply worrying that incidents like this, in which a black child is seen and treated as a criminal, continue to happen,” said national civil rights lawyer Ben Crump in a statement after the incident.
The woman’s cell phone was found on Saturday by an Uber driver, according to Crump.
On Thursday night, Miya Ponsetto’s former lawyer, Sharen Ghatan, said in a statement to ABC News: “I had a personal meeting with Miya today and I am extremely concerned about her mental state. Of course she is not emotionally good.
She left a national newscast and has been incommunicado ever since. I was informed by another media source that she may have been arrested at her home in the early evening. It is a challenge to work with a client who explicitly disregards the lawyer. “
Crump also released a statement on Twitter on behalf of Harrold Jr.’s parents, accusing Ponsetto of committing an act of racism that was only allowed and fueled by the Arlo Hotel staff.
“This is not an apology from someone who, until a few days ago, claimed that she did nothing wrong and, in fact, claimed that Keyon Harrold Sr. had assaulted her. Someone who targeted a black child of 14 years because of the color of His skin. It is a significant change in society. It is a system that tolerates and encourages racial discrimination and considers blacks guilty until their innocence is proven, “says the statement. “A system that exists and thrives because of institutions like the Arlo Hotel, which enables the disruptive behavior of people like Miya Ponsetto and, instead of preventing the racist attack on our son, threw gasoline on the fire.”
The victim’s parents added that they expect Ponsetto to be charged with assaulting his son.
“We are not interested in what she has to say, in her feigned remorse, and we certainly will not provide her with a public platform and an audience to do so much,” they added. “Our energy is now directed towards the healing of our son and to draw attention to the broader social issues that led to the repulsive physical and verbal attack that continues to traumatize our family. This should never have happened. yes, we pray that it will not be in vain and bring us closer to living in a world where a 14 year old black child can enjoy a snack with his father without the threat of being traced, targeted or falsely accused, and physically attacked . “
Police released Ponsetto’s photo on Thursday night.
According to the police report, sheriff’s delegates contacted her during a traffic stop near her home. “She did not go to the deputies until she arrived at her residence and refused to get out of the car. The deputies forcibly removed it from the vehicle and arrested it because of the pending warrant ”, states the report. “New York Police Department detectives arrived in Ventura County on Thursday morning to help coordinate the arrest.”
Ponsetto was charged at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Center, where he is held without bail on the escape warrant, police said. She will remain in custody until an extradition hearing.
In a Friday morning interview for “Good Morning America”, Harrold Jr.’s parents said they were grateful that Ponsetto was arrested.
“She should have been arrested last week,” said his mother. “She should have been arrested a long time ago, but I am grateful that she was arrested.”
Harrold Jr. agreed. “I am very grateful that they finally arrested her,” he said. “I am happy that justice will be served.”
Harrold Jr.’s father said the boy started seeing a therapist to recover from the trauma.
“I think it is important not only for [the] Harrows family, but it is important for all of America that we see equal justice, that when people are falsely accused, that a black person is also accused by a white person, that that white person be held responsible for falsehood – especially if it is perpetrated with physical violence , as we saw with that, “said Crump.
Crump and Harrold Jr.’s parents continued to accuse hotel staff of wrongdoing, saying the situation would not have worsened if they had done the right thing.
“I haven’t been able to sleep since December 26th. So, I feel it tonight. I can at least get something, but it’s a start, ”said the boy’s mother. “Once someone is arrested, it means nothing. The system has failed … we, our community. Therefore, we must continue to pressure.”
“It doesn’t end … it’s a daily struggle, and the reality is that this woman is prone to violence,” he added. “And the hotel allowed her to do that. And it doesn’t end with just her being arrested. We have to change the narrative. And it comes from all parties involved.”
Haley Yamada and Sabina Ghebremedhin of ABC News contributed to this report.