Jeffrey Caplan
A woman was arrested in Fresno, Calif., when she was pulled over and found to have a loaded gun, her baby and two gang members in her car, police said — but her mugshot has launched her into internet fame.
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Fresno Police Lieutenant Mark Hudson told CBS 47 that Mirella Ponce, who police say is a gang member herself, was booked on a felony charge of “possession of loaded firearm in a vehicle, and she had her infant child with her,” YourValley.com reported.
But what’s made Ponce’s arrest a nationwide story is her mugshot, which shows off her tattoos that cover her neck and chest. On her chest are the phrases, “Love is Pain,” in black cursive, and below that, “Pain is Pleasure” in red. On her neck is a tattoo of a flower. The picture, posted by the Fresno Police Department, blew up on social media. It’s been shared more than 4,000 times and has attracted plenty of compliments about her unique looks. Others have criticized her for allegedly gang-banging with her baby.
One comment read: “The only crime she committed was stealing my heart,” but another said, “All about her looks and not about the child in the car or the fact she’s a gang member carrying a gun with other gang members.” Another person offered to pay her bail.
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But that could be a risky proposition. CBS 47 visited a bail bondsman who said if an inmate misses their court date, the person who paid the bail for release could be responsible for paying the whole thing. In Ponce’s case, that bill would be $155,000.
Ponce could benefit from her looks in court, CBS 47’s legal analyst Charles Magill said.
“I think the rule of thumb is, judges do go more lenient on women period because of the bias. But there are a lot of female judges out there as well,” he said.
