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The Bronx judge who replaced a notoriously lenient colleague in handling juvenile cases just allowed two accused teenage shooters — including one charged with murder — to go free pending trial, The Post has learned.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Naita Semaj-Williams appears to already be following in the footsteps of Acting Supreme Court Justice Denis Boyle, who transferred to adult trials and hearings after he made headlines for cutting violent teens loose on bail, law enforcement sources said.
Prosecutors from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office had asked for both 17-year-old boys to be held on bail, but Semaj-Williams ruled they should be freed — one on supervised release and the other on his own recognizance — at their respective hearings on Feb. 9.
“Crime will never go down with judges like this,” a Bronx cop griped to The Post.
One of the cases involves Braulio Garcia, 17, who was arrested on Jan. 14, along with 16-year-old Jonathan Aponte, in connection with the New Year’s Day death of a good Samaritan who jumped onto Bronx subway tracks to save another man. Both have been charged with murder, manslaughter, robbery, gang assault and other crimes.
Garcia was arraigned on an indictment for second-degree murder Feb. 9 — and ordered released with supervision by Semaj-Williams, over the objection of prosecutors.
He’s expected to be sprung following a hearing Friday, after the New York City Sheriff’s Office works out the terms of his supervised release, including ankle monitoring, the DA’s office said.
In the other case, Semaj-Williams even walked back another jurist’s decision to set monetary bail.
Judge Michael John Hartofilis had ordered 17-year-old Sharif Mitchell held on $30,000 bail or $60,000 bond at his Feb. 8 arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court on attempted murder and other charges.
But at his hearing in the youth part the next day, Semaj-Williams modified those conditions, releasing Mitchell on his own recognizance despite prosecutors’ protests.
The teen is accused of shooting a 19-year-old man four times on the 2 train platform at the Bronx Park East station at around 3 p.m. on Jan. 10, according to a criminal complaint.
“Another teenager with a gun firing into a crowd indiscriminately on a subway platform walks,” said the Bronx cop. “We are lucky no one died.”
According to sources, Semaj-Williams, 41, a former civil court judge, replaced Boyle in the youth part, presiding over criminal cases involving younger defendants.
Boyle, 67, a veteran jurist with 30 years on the bench, had requested the transfer, the state Office of Court Administration said earlier this month.
Several decisions over the course of his tenure had garnered outrage from New York’s Finest.
Last month, for instance, Boyle drew heat when a teen rapper accused of shooting an NYPD cop was freed after posting the $250,000 bond set by the judge — even though Bronx prosecutors wanted him locked up without bail.
Camrin Williams, 16, is charged with assault and gun possession for wounding the cop during a scuffle on Jan. 18.
State court officials repeatedly defended Boyle, saying he used his discretion as permitted under the law and chiding critics for “cherry-picking” cases to criticize.
The officials didn’t immediately return a request for comment Tuesday on the two decisions by Semaj-Williams.
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