LA woman dubbed ‘SoHo Karen’ for ambush of young Black teen at boutique NYC hotel pleads guilty

A California woman dubbed “SoHo Karen” for ambushing a Black teenager in a hotel lobby and falsely accusing him of stealing her iPhone — a disturbing caught-on-camera attack that went viral ― pleaded guilty Monday to hate crime charges.

Miya Ponsetto, 23, wore a beige jacket and pants to her hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court for unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime and other related charges in the Dec. 26, 2020, attack.

“Ms. Ponsetto displayed outrageous behavior,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “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 behavior and ensuring this conduct does not reoccur.”

The Los Angeles woman attacked the 14-year-old son of Grammy-winning jazz musician Keyon Harrold Sr. in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel on Hudson St. near Canal St., tackling the teen to the ground and demanding he hand over the phone.

He didn’t have it, and it became clear Ponsetto had left it in an Uber car when the driver returned it to her a short while later.

But the boy’s outraged father posted his cell phone recording of the unsettling encounter, sparking accusations of racism and calls for Ponsetto to be charged.

Assistant prosecutor Sarah Marquez said Harrold and his son agreed to Ponsetto’s case resolution.

If she doesn’t commit any crimes for two years and continues to attend counseling, the court will let her withdraw her felony plea — leaving only a misdemeanor aggravated harassment conviction. Ponsetto must also continue to abide by her probation in California on separate public intoxication, drunk driving and motor vehicle charges.

Her lawyer declined to let her address reporters’ questions outside the courthouse.

“We obviously are happy and relieved that this ordeal is over for both Mr. Harrold and Ms. Ponsetto,” said lawyer Paul D’Emilia. “Ms. Ponsetto is thankful for the thoughtfulness and the empathy that the DA’s office showed. It was an unfortunate incident on that night, and hopefully it won’t be repeated.”

Harrold in May filed suit against the hotel, Ponsetto, and Arlo hotel manager Chad Nathan. According to the artist’s lawyers, the hotel staff “aided and abetted” the attack by demanding the boy surrender the phone he was carrying.

“In this case racial profiling spiraled into a violent and frightening assault against an innocent African-American child,” reads the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Harrold did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a Gayle King interview in the attack’s aftermath last year, Ponsetto bumbled through an explanation for her actions.

“I was approaching the people that had been exiting the hotel because in my mind, anybody exiting is probably the one, might be the one that is trying to steal my phone,” she said.

“I admit, yes, I could have approached the situation differently, or maybe not yelled at him like that and made him feel, you know, maybe some sort of inferior way, making him feel as if I was, like, hurting his feelings, because that’s not my intention.”