Ventura County woman charged with hate crime for incident in New York City
NEW YORK CITY - A woman from Ventura County pleaded not guilty Wednesday to hate crime charges that stemmed from an altercation at the Arlo Hotel in New York City that was caught on video.
Miya Ponsetto, 22, of Simi Valley was charged with second degree unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime, aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child in connection to a false accusation against a Black teen.
Ponsetto was caught on video accusing Keyon Harrold Jr. of stealing her cell phone and then trying to tackle him in the hotel lobby on Dec. 26. The victim is the teenage son of jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold.
The hate crime charge alleges that Ponsetto intentionally targeted the teen in substantial part because of his race "regardless of whether the belief and perception was correct."
Ponsetto appeared virtually for her arraignment where she pleaded no guilty. She is due back in court in October. She was granted supervised release back in January.
