HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida mother was taken into custody after law enforcement authorities said she intentionally incited a large-scale riot of approximately 400 to 500 people at a local skating rink after the business canceled her teen daughter’s birthday party due to a breach of contract.
On Wednesday, Stephanie Pedroso, 36, was arrested and charged with one count each of inciting a riot, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and traffic related offenses, authorities announced, according to Law&Crime.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said the woman’s actions were shameful.
“Using social media to weaponize our youth is absolutely deplorable,” Chronister said in a statement. “As a parent, I cannot fathom what went through this woman’s mind when she put lives at risk to provoke this mayhem.”
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release that said deputies responded about 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, to a call from an off-duty deputy who reported that approximately 500 people were at the Astro Skate in Brandon, Florida, and that several fights had erupted.
It took a multitude of deputies nearly six hours to contain the violence. During the melee, 23 juveniles and three adults were arrested for “the escalation of chaos at the scene.”
Additionally, the sheriff’s office said that one person was injured and five local businesses were damaged.
During the riot, a teen was thrown through the plate glass window of a nearby barber shop and a mob of rioters entered and looted a 7-Eleven market across the street from the skating center, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Astro Skate entered into a contract with Pedroso on May 14 stating the facility would host an “after-hours birthday party” for her daughter on May 17, according to HCSO’s news release. The contract required that Pedroso was responsible for securing a certain number of off-duty deputies, a mandate that was not met.
The sheriff’s office said Pedroso “failed to secure the required off-duty deputies” for the party. As a result, she was in breach of the contract with the skating center and the business canceled her reservation and issued a refund on May 17.
“That’s when Pedroso used her daughter’s social media to make a live video encouraging friends to show up to inflict violence in the community, which included many of the businesses around Astro Skate,” the press release noted. “In the Instagram live video stream, Pedroso could be heard making multiple violent and vulgar statements as well as numerous racial slurs.”
Law&Crime reported that Pedroso allegedly made the following statements in the inflammatory video:
- “For y’all, if y’all still go up there, tear the f— out of them. I’ve got some money for y’all, and I’ll pay y’all a–.”
- “I hope everybody still show up and tear this b—- up tomorrow.”
- “Make them crackers work.”
- “Stress them the f— out.”
- “F— that, we should still go to Astro.”
In his statement, Sheriff Chronister condemned the woman’s actions.
“I want to be clear: using social media to encourage people to riot and destroy businesses is completely unacceptable, and we will not tolerate that here in Hillsborough County,” Chronister emphasized. “This serves as a stark reminder of how quickly situations can spiral out of control and show the importance of responsible behavior and the consequences of inciting violence.”
Pedroso posted a $2,500 bond on Thursday and was released from custody. It’s unclear when she will make her first court appearance.
