NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The California woman dubbed "Soho Karen" after she allegedly attacked and falsely accused a Black teen of stealing her iPhone at a Manhattan hotel in 2020 has been offered a plea deal without jail time, the district attorney's office said Monday.
Miya Ponsetto initially pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated harassment, child endangerment and unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime stemming from an incident with then-14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. at the Arlo Hotel in December 2021.
However, in Monday's plea deal by the Manhattan district attorney's office, Ponsetto would have to plead guilty to the top count against her: unlawful imprisonment.
She would then be required over the next two years as a "life-abiding life" to abide by California's probation and continue counseling.
If Ponsetto is successful, the DA's office said it would agree to withdraw her felony charge in exchange for a second-degree aggravated harassment guilty plea — a misdemeanor, with time served.
It is not clear at this time whether her lawyer will accept the plea deal.
Meanwhile, Harrold Jr.'s family had previously filed a lawsuit against her and the hotel.
Ponestto, who is due to return to court in April, has apologized to the family of Harrold, who is the son of jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold, telling the New York Post last year that she "made a mistake."
"I feel sorry that I made the family go through, like, all of that stress. But at the same time, it wasn’t just them going through that," she said.
Ponestto's case was adjourned until April.
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