Canceled birthday party, social media posts and 500-person riot lead to Florida mom's arrest

A canceled birthday party, social media posts and subsequent riot led to the arrest of a Florida mother who allegedly started a roller rink riot.

“I hope everyone still shows up and rips this whore off tomorrow.”

(Video: Fox 13 Tampa Bay)

Nearly two months after the violence around Brandon, Florida's Astro Skate took nearly 40 deputies to contain for roughly six hours, the 36-year-old mother who allegedly sparked the fight, vandalism and theft was arrested.

According to a statement Thursday from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Stephanie Pedroso was arrested Wednesday after detectives' review of her social media content led to a charge of inciting a riot when it was canceled · throw his daughter's “after-hours birthday party”.

“I want to be clear: using social media to encourage people to riot and destroy businesses is completely unacceptable, and we will not tolerate it here in Hillsborough County,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.

On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives arrested 36-year-old Stephanie Pedroso after a thorough investigation showed she deliberately used social media… pic.twitter.com/QieVacX1u5

— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) July 11, 2024

Statements attributed to Pedroso on his social media, as detailed by HCSO, included:

“To all of you, if you're still going up there, get the hell out of there. I've got some money for you all and I'll pay you a **.”

“I hope everyone still shows up and rips this whore off tomorrow.”

“Make the cr*ckers work.”

“Using social media to weaponize our youth is absolutely deplorable. As a parent, I cannot fathom what went through this woman's mind when she put their lives at risk to cause this chaos,” said Chronister, who also stated: “This is a stark reminder of how quickly situations can spiral out of control and shows the importance of responsible behavior and the consequences of inciting violence.”

The law enforcement statement detailed how: “On Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 9:20 p.m., our communications center received a call from an off-duty HCSO deputy that a large A crowd of 500 had turned up at Astro Skate in Brandon, where several fights had broken out.”

After about six hours, dozens of deputies had contained the violence that had led to 23 juvenile arrests, three adult arrests, damage to five businesses and one person sent to the hospital after a beating at a barbershop led to that they threw them out the window. .

In addition to one count of inciting a riot, Pedroso was charged with driving while license suspended, canceled or revoked (3rd offense) and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.”

In addition, her husband, James Knight II, 38, was said to have been arrested on unrelated charges of driving with a suspended, canceled or revoked license (third offense).

In explaining the reason for canceling the party, HCSO detailed how Pedroso had paid to have his daughter's party at the skating rink, but owner Chris Maganias eventually reimbursed him and canceled the event for alleged breach of contract after he failed to contract the necessary. the security deputies. She also told Fox 13 that flyers for the event had “swag contests and all that nonsense” when she allegedly claimed it was going to be a kids' party.

He further alleged that he had been reselling tickets to profit from the event.

The New York Post reported that Pedroso was released Thursday after posting $2,500 bail.

Staff writer

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College, where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and seeker of the truth, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and dog, and when he's not researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel ·the.

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