NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who falsely accused a Black teenager of stealing her phone and then tackled him at a New York City hotel has been arrested in her home state of California.
Booking documents show that Miya Ponsetto was jailed Thursday in Ventura County. There was a warrant out for her arrest, but it's unclear what charges she may be facing.
The county sheriff’s office says the woman drove two blocks before stopping and then refused to get out of her car, so she was forcibly removed. As a result, she could be charged with resisting arrest.
The New York Police Department flew detectives out to speak with Ponsetto and to coordinate the arrest earlier Thursday.
That followed days of intense media coverage of the fracas at the hotel and demands by the teen’s family that she face criminal charges.
Ponsetto’s lawyer says her client is “emotionally unwell” and remorseful over the Dec. 26 conflict with 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. at Manhattan’s Arlo Hotel.
As for the actual location of Ponsetto’s missing phone, the teen’s father says it had been left in an Uber and was returned by the driver shortly after the confrontation.