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Mother arrested weeks after Astro Skate brawl
Hillsborough County deputies have arrested the woman who they say incited a riot at Astro Skate in Brandon back in May after her teen daughter’s birthday party was canceled.
BRANDON, Fla. - A Valrico woman was arrested for starting a brawl at an Astro Skate in Brandon after she was unable to host her teenage daughter's birthday party there, authorities said.
Stephanie Pedroso, 36, of Valrico, was arrested and charged with inciting a riot and unlawful use of a two-way communications device in connection with the major fight that unfolded on May 18.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister briefed the public on Thursday about what led to the melee that landed 23 people in jail and resulted in damage to businesses in the surrounding Brandon area.
READ: Astro Skate Brandon fight leads to the arrest of 30 juveniles, 6 adults: ‘Like Lord of the Flies’
Chronister said this all began when Pedroso went to the Astro Skate to inquire about holding an after-hours birthday party for her teenage daughter there.
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Extra patrols after Astro Skate fight
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is stepping up patrols in "high-risk areas" in hopes of preventing a repeat of last weekend's large fight in Brandon.
She entered into a contract that required her to provide for two off-duty deputies due to the number of people she expected to be in attendance. On May 17, someone with Astro Skate called her to tell her she couldn't host the party because she didn't provide the necessary security.
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Over the next 24 hours, Pedroso took to her daughter's social media, urging people to still show up to the roller-skating rink and cause a disturbance, Chronister said.
The sheriff said Pedroso then showed up to the Astro Skate with a friend wearing a T-shirt with the word ‘Security’ on it, claiming she had provided her own necessary security detail.
Photo courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
When the employees denied her request for the party, she called on her followers to riot, at one point claiming she had money and was willing to pay them to cause violence, according to Chronister.
State Attorney Suzy Lopez said Pedroso said, 'I hope everyone shows up to tear this (expletive) up tomorrow,’ referring to the skating rink.
The brawl involved hundreds of people outside the roller-skating rink, with HCSO estimating a crowd of around 400-500 people gathered in the area when the fight began.
READ: Video shows violence at Astro Skate Brandon leading to dozens of arrests
The fight spilled over into nearby businesses, where the crowd stole and damaged businesses. One teen was punched and thrown through the glass window of a barber shop.
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Video shows large fight and response in Brandon
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO. Social media and bodycam videos from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office show violent fights amid a large crowd in Brandon on Saturday night, along with the response from deputies.
"As parents, we bear the responsibility of being role models - that shining example for our children to follow," Chronister said. "Unfortunately, in this case, this mother did just the opposite, demonstrating what not to be or what not to do."
Lopez said authorities were able to charge Pedroso with her specific charge due to a recently amended Florida statute.
"The legislature gave prosecutors tools to hold rioters accountable, and we will," Lopez said. "We charged her under this new rioting statute. This law was actually challenged this year by groups who prefer to protect rioters instead of protect our community."
According to HCSO, 23 juveniles and three people were arrested in the ensuing chaos, and it took deputies nearly six hours to disperse the crowd. Five businesses in the surrounding area sustained damage, as well.
Pedroso's husband was also arrested on an unrelated charge of driving with license suspended, canceled, or revoked.
The owner of the Astro Skate, Chris Maganias, talked to FOX 13 a couple of days after the chaos unfolded.
"If I had a magic button that I could press and say there were no issues, down the block, up the block, across the street, I would press it 10 times," he said. "There's only so much I can control, you know what I'm saying?"
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He put much of the blame on the parents who weren't there, saying his child doesn't walk around in the dark at the ages of some of the teenagers involved were.
Sheriff Chronister is expected to address the media about the arrest at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.