Notorious NYC judge who let rapper gang member, 16, free without bail after he shot cop is removed from criminal cases after backlash at her lenient rulings
A lenient Bronx judge who let free a teenage gang member that shot an NYPD officer has been removed from criminal cases after intense criticism over her woke rulings.
Supreme Court Justice Naita Semaj is expected to make the silent transfer from criminal to civil courts after tomorrow, according to The City.
Semaj has received backlash among government officials and law enforcement for her leniency in court case rulings, including when she dropped charges against 16-year-old Camrin Williams, an NYC rapper accused of shooting NYPD officer Kaseem Pennant, 27, in the leg back in January 2022 as he was being searched.
At the time, Williams, who is a gang member and raps as C Blu, was on probation for a 2020 gun possession case.
The 16-year-old had his charges dropped because Semaj insisted police officers had ‘no apparent reason’ to search him and discredited arresting officers’ accounts.
Police say Semaj has a history of going easy on teen offenders and say her interpretation of the Williams’ arrest was entirely wrong.
When the rapper’s charges were dropped, Semaj argued that prosecutors failed to show that Pennant suffered ‘significant physical injury,’ despite being shot.
Williams fought with police officers in January when they responded to reports of unrest, and refused to comply with their orders to remove his hands from his pockets.
He began fighting with one of the officers and during the tussle, the gun went off and a single bullet struck and wounded Pennant and hit Williams in the groin.
Semaj took over handling juvenile cases from her veteran colleague Justice Denis Boyle last January. Boyle had sparked widespread condemnation by allowing teenage suspects accused of serious crimes to be released on bail.
Her first few weeks presiding over juvenile cases, Semaj has shown herself to be just as lenient as her predecessor by allowing two 17-year-olds facing felony charges to walk free.
Braulio Garcia, 17, was arrested in January on charges of murder, manslaughter, robbery and gang assault in connection with the death of Good Samaritan Roland Hueston, who was struck by a train while trying to save another man from the tracks.
Prosecutors had asked that Garcia be held on bail, but Semaj ordered him to be released with supervision a month later.
Sharif Mitchell, 17, faced attempted murder charges for allegedly opening fire on a subway platform and shooting a 19-year-old man four time.
Semaj released Mitchell on his own recognizance, even though at his arraignment another judge had ordered him held on $30,000 bail.
Semaj is a native of New York but grew up in Jamaica. She returned to New York to attend Lehman College with a degree in social work in 2000, Jamaicans.com reported.
She then continued her education after working for a foster care agency and enrolled in St. John’s University of Law.
After graduating, she was hired as an attorney with the Administration for Children’s Services and later became a Court Attorney with New York State Unified Court System in 2010.
In 2018, Semaj won a seat on the bench at the New York Civil Court, and last November successfully ran for election for judge of the Bronx Supreme Court.
She then went on to serve in her current position in 2022.
