A Maryland hairstylist will serve six months of home confinement after posting a viral video of herself assaulting a 15-year-old braiding client over a payment dispute.
Jayla A. Cunningham, a 19-year-old hairstylist from Laurel, was sentenced Thursday, Jan. 22, to five years in jail, with all but six months suspended, to be served under house arrest, Fox 5 reported.
“I really do regret what I did,” Cunningham told Judge Michael Pearson in Prince George’s County Circuit Court before he handed down the sentence, according to The Washington Post. “Can you have faith in me? Can you believe in me that I am trying?”
While Pearson said he had no reason to believe Cunningham was a bad person, he noted that the evidence — including the video she posted showing her dragging her teen client toward the door by her hood—was impossible to ignore.
“The disregard you showed that young lady on that day is unacceptable,” he said. “I trust you’re going to learn from it.”
In March 2025, Cunningham, who at the time operated a licensed hair-braiding business out of her Temple Hills apartment, claimed in court documents that she spent hours installing a weave and that the client, who had agreed to pay $150, tried to leave without paying once the style was complete.
The girl was attempting to pay her electronically when she ran into trouble. The teen’s mother later filed charges, alleging Cunningham pulled her daughter’s hair. According to the mother, Cunningham told the girl “not to move until I get my money” before approaching her with a pair of scissors.
Cunningham’s attorney argued she approached the client with scissors to remove the service, not to cause harm, and said his client needs “business skills, training, [and] anger management.”
In November, a jury convicted Cunningham of second-degree assault, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. She had asked the judge for probation.
During Thursday’s hearing, Cunningham said she had moved into the apartment just two weeks before the incident and was worried about not being paid. She also said she was struggling with her mental health and an abusive relationship at the time. Although evidence showed she posted multiple videos and posts online admitting to and defending the assault, she later stopped posting and sent the client an apology via text.
Following her home detention, Cunningham will be on probation and must undergo mental health treatment and complete anger management as part of her sentence.
