The woman who was filmed attacking a 14-year-old boy at a New York hotel last month recently had criminal charges against her dropped in an unrelated case in California.
A Los Angeles County judge dropped a public intoxication charge against Miya Ponsetto, 22, after her attorney argued she had no criminal history at the time of the February 28 incident. TMZ reported that Ponsetto’s mother, who was also arrested, pleaded no contest to battering a police officer and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and a 12-month diversionary program.
On February 28, Ponsetto and her mother were arrested at a Beverly Hills hotel for allegedly being drunk and belligerent. According to TMZ, the pair refused to leave the hotel lobby, and continued to behave aggressively after officers arrived.
Earlier this month, Ponsetto was arrested in California after being charged in New York with attempted robbery, attempted assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and grand larceny. She is accused of tackling the 14-year-old son of jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold in a New York City hotel lobby after falsely accusing the boy of stealing her iPhone.
During the December 26 incident, Ponsetto was filmed snatching the teen’s phone from him and preventing the father and son from leaving the hotel. However, Ponsetto reportedly left her phone in an Uber; the driver returned it minutes after the alleged assault.
In addition to the incident in New York and the recently-dropped public intoxication charge, Ponsetto was arrested in October for a DUI in Ventura County, California. Five days before the filmed incident in Ventura County, Ponsetto was given probation for a May 28 DUI arrest in Los Angeles.
During that incident, Ponsetto was filmed fighting Ventura County officers as they took her into custody at a gas station. TMZ reported that authorities ultimately determined her blood-alcohol level was .14, nearly twice the legal limit.
Ponsetto may be facing additional criminal charges for allegedly attacking officers while they arrested her for the December 26 incident in New York. She is currently on supervised release concerning that case.
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[Featured image: Miya Ponsetto/Ventura County Sheriff’s Department]
