Miya Ponsetto Pleads Guilty to Tackling Black Teen at SoHo Hotel

A California woman who tackled a Black teenager at a SoHo hotel after falsely accusing him of stealing her cellphone pleaded guilty on Monday to a felony hate crime charge stemming from the altercation. Parts of it were captured in a widely seen video.

Under the terms of her plea, the woman, Miya Ponsetto, 23, avoided jail time and can enter a new plea to a lesser, misdemeanor charge without a hate crime element if she completes her probation in a case of driving while intoxicated in California. She must also continue counseling and have no encounters with the criminal justice system for the next two years, officials said.

The hotel episode was a high-profile example of the kind of false accusation Black people routinely confront in New York and elsewhere. It came several months after a white woman called 911 to falsely claim that a Black bird-watcher in Central Park was threatening her life. (Last year, a lawyer for Ms. Ponsetto said that she is of Puerto Rican and Vietnamese descent.)

In a statement announcing Ms. Ponsetto’s plea, Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, highlighted what he said was her “outrageous behavior” in tackling Keyon Harrold Jr., the 14-year-old son of a prominent jazz musician, in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel in December 2020.

“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,” Mr. Bragg said in the statement. “This plea ensures appropriate accountability for Ms. Ponsetto by addressing underlying causes for her behavior and ensuring this conduct does not reoccur.”

Ms. Ponsetto’s lawyer, Paul D’Emilia, said in a statement that he and his client “were pleased that today’s proceeding brought this unfortunate misunderstanding closer to a final resolution.”

“We are appreciative of the district attorney’s thoughtful and empathetic approach to finding an acceptable conclusion,” Mr. D’Emilia added in the statement, “especially in light of the unreasonable pressure brought to bear by many voices not familiar with the more granular details of what occurred that evening.”

The “many voices” comment was an apparent reference to the angry public outcry the episode touched off when the video capturing parts of it began to ricochet across social media shortly after the altercation occurred on Dec. 26, 2020.

The video was filmed by the jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold, who was staying at the Arlo with his son. The two had just come down to the hotel’s lobby for brunch when Ms. Ponsetto, whom they did not know, accosted them.

The video shows tensions escalating quickly, with Ms. Ponsetto insisting that the teenager has the phone and yelling at father and son, as Mr. Harrold insists that she is in the wrong.

“No,” she can be heard yelling. “I’m not letting him walk away with my phone!”

The video also shows a man who identifies himself as a hotel manager saying he is “trying to help” while appearing to confront the teenager about the phone.

Separate footage captured by a hotel security camera shows Ms. Ponsetto tackling the teenager. The phone was later found and returned by an Uber…