Florida woman arrested for inciting riot at ice rink after birthday party canceled

A Florida woman was arrested for inciting a wild brawl at an ice rink involving several hundred people after her teenage daughter’s birthday party was canceled.

Stephanie Pedroso, 36, was arrested this week and charged with incitement to riot and unauthorized use of a two-way communication device in connection with the frenzied brawl.

It all happened in May when Chris Maganias, the owner of Astro Skate in Brandon, Florida, got wind of flyers being posted online advertising booty contests for what was supposed to be a birthday party for young children. He didn’t want to change anything about such an event.

These flyers were not approved by the rink, which was reason number one for canceling the party. The woman also violated the rink’s rules by reselling tickets to the party and not hiring the required security personnel. So the party was canceled and the owner offered the woman her money back.

According to Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Pedroso received a call on May 17 and was told she could not host the party at the ice rink because she had not fulfilled her part of a contract that required her to hire two off-duty deputies to act as security for the event.

Provoking an uproar because a birthday party at an ice rink was cancelled sounds like a slight overreaction

Despite the cancellation of the party, the mother is accused of using social media to encourage people to come anyway. Of course, why should she respect the fact that they canceled the birthday party with the booty contest?

She saw no reason to do otherwise and then showed up at Astro Skate as if the party was going to happen anyway. She had solved the security problem. She and a friend wore T-shirts with the word “Security” on them.

Employees refused to let her in, so she encouraged her supporters to riot. Chronister said Pedroso even once claimed he had money to pay people to “riot and cause destruction.”

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office estimates that 400 to 500 people were present when the brawl broke out. Several nearby businesses were reportedly damaged in the wild scene.

It took the police almost six hours to bring the situation under control. When the dust from the scuffle had settled, 23 youths and three adults had been arrested and a total of five shops had been damaged.

In other words, a perfectly reasonable response to the cancellation of a birthday party. Instead of making other arrangements, why not spend the time allotted for the party having a wild fight?

If mom wanted to give her daughter an unforgettable birthday, she did it in every way. We’re talking about a nomination for the “Mother of the Year” award.