SoHo Karen has struck a plea deal. If you’re not familiar, Miya Ponsetto earned the aforementioned nickname back in 2020, after she was charged with a hate crime for attacking a then 14-year-old Black boy named Keyon Harrold Jr., who she wrongly accused of stealing her iPhone in a video that subsequently went viral.
According to TMZ, Ponsetto will be expected to “live a law-abiding life” for the next two years; she has also agreed to continue attending therapy and follow the terms of her probation while residing in California.
The woman’s attorney, Paul D’Emilia told the publication, “We are pleased that today’s proceeding brought this unfortunate misunderstanding close to a final resolution… We are appreciative of the District Attorney’s thoughtful and empathetic approach to finding an acceptable conclusion.”
Should Ponsetto manage to stay out of trouble for the next two years, she’ll later be able to withdraw her guilty plea to the felony and re-plead to aggravated harassment in the second degree, knocking her charge down to a misdemeanour.
If she lands in hot water again, however, she could face up to four years in prison.
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Alvin Bragg, Manhattan’s DA said, “Ms. Ponsetto displayed outrageous behaviour. As a Black man, I have personally experienced racial profiling countless times in my life and I sympathize with the young man victimized in this incident. This plea ensures appropriate accountability for Ms. Ponsetto by addressing underlying causes for her behaviour and ensuring this conduct does not reoccur.”
It’s worth noting that Ponsetto was busted twice for a DUI in 2020, and remains on probation for an incident where she was arrested for public intoxication with her mother.
As far as her hate crime case goes, Miya denies racially profiling Keyon, although she does admit to mistakenly accusing him of stealing her phone.
[Via]