'SoHo Karen' appears in court on hate crime charges over alleged phone theft

Attorney told reporters after the hearing that his client had been ‘grossly overcharged’

A woman labelled by social media users as “SoHo Karen” has appeared in court on hate crime charges after she wrongly accused a Black teenager of stealing her phone.

Miya Ponsetto, of California, appeared in a Manhattan court on Monday for a pre-trial hearing in connection with the alleged hate crime against 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr.

She was arraigned in July for attacking the son of jazz player Keyon Harrold, who she wrongly accused of stealing her phone in a Manhattan hotel lobby last December.

The 23-year-old filmed herself accusing the teenager of wrongdoing, in footage that soon went viral and led to her arrest in January.

She discovered shortly after that she had left her phone in an Uber, and pleaded not guilty.

Paul D’Emilia, Ms Ponsetto’s attorney, said after Monday’s hearing that Ms Ponsetto had been “grossly overcharged” and has apologised for her behaviour.

“She was charged with crimes that were greatly enhanced, if I could say that,” Mr D’Emilia told DailyMail.com. “We don’t feel those charges are appropriate, but hopefully there’s something that we can reach that will be satisfactory to everybody.”

He added that she had been seeking therapy at home in California and was waiting for a “possible diagnosis” for “anger management”, according to the New York Post.

Ms Ponsetto, who did not speak during the court hearing, added afterwards: “I just wish I had apologised differently, I feel like I made a mistake.”  She is expected to appear again on 10 January.

The California woman could face imprisonment of 10 years if convicted of a hate crime, as well as charges of harassment and of endangering a minor, it has been reported.

She was widely criticised for an interview with CBS News in which she suggested she could not have committed a hate crime and “wasn’t racial profiling whatsoever” because she was Puerto Rican.

“I’m, like, a woman of colour,” Ms Ponsetto said at the time.