The eighteen-year-old Florida woman who gave a Miami-Dade judge the finger and disrespectfully swore at him has apologized to the court and the judge, according to CBS. The teen, Penelope Soto appeared in the judge’s courtroom again on Friday with a very different – improved – demeanor for the court setting.
Teen Flips off the Judge and gets 30 days in Jail (Video of First Court Appearance)
On Monday, the video of Soto’s court appearance in Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat’s courtroom went viral as the young defendant acted extremely casual, playing with her hair, smiling and giggling through her time before the judge. The judge became annoyed with her lack of respect when she mockingly said “adios” to the Hispanic judge who has a Spanish accent. When she did that, he raised her $5,000 bond for a drug offense to $10,000. At that, Soto gave the judge the middle finger and said “go <blank> yourself” as she walked away. The judge then called her back and gave her a 30-day jail term for her disrespect.
After Soto gave a teary-eyed apology to the judge on Friday and admitted that she was under the influence of Xanax and alcohol when she appeared before him in a disrespectful manner on Monday, he dropped the 30-day jail term for her contempt of court charge.
The young woman’s lawyer said that she is to complete a drug program which will address drug addiction. Reportedly, completion of the drug program allows first-time offenders to have their drug arrest dropped by the court.
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