Crime & Safety

Superior Court Judge Harbored Fugitive At Her Home, Prosecutor Says

Carlia Brady accused of not reporting to authorities armed robbery suspect who lived at her Woodbridge home.

A Woodbridge Superior Court Judge who was arrested Tuesday had been harboring a "live-in companion" wanted for an alleged armed robbery, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said.

Carlia Magpantay Brady, 41, has been charged with two counts of hindering the apprehension of a fugitive.

The first count, a second-degree offense, charges Brady with failing to report her companion, Jason D. Prontnicki, 41, to authorities, according to a statement released Thursday by Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano.

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Prontnicki was wanted for an armed robbery of an Old Bridge pharmacy in April, Soriano said.

The second hindering charge, a third-degree offense, alleges Brady was "harboring or concealing a fugitive" at her Woodbridge home, Soriano said.

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Brady was released on her own recognizance and no court date has been set.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner announced Wednesday Brady has been suspended without pay effective immediately.

The case has been transferred to Somerset County because Brady is a judge in Middlesex County.

Brady was appointed in February as the first Filipino-American judge in New Jersey, according to the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey.

Pronticki, who is accused of threatening a pharmacy employee with a tire iron, is being held in Middlesex County Jail on $50,000 bail. 


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