EASTON, Pa. — A senior judge balked at letting a Moore Township police officer regain his firearms Monday, even as the two women accusing him of abuse asked the court to let him carry weapons again.
Senior Judge Thomas Munley would not sign on to a proposed agreement between Patrolman Johnathan Miklich, his wife and his ex-girlfriend.
The three parties appeared before Munley in Northampton County Court, looking to amend a temporary protection-from-abuse order the women filed against Miklich last month.
- Senior Judge Thomas Munley refused Monday to sign off on an agreement that would have allowed Moore Township Police officer Johnathan Miklich to regain his firearms
- Miklich is facing allegations of emotional and physical abuse in two protection-from-abuse orders filed in April by his wife and ex-girlfriend
- The Northampton County District Attorney's office is investigating the allegations, and Miklich is not currently working as a police officer
The temporary order required Miklich to have no contact with the women and their families and to surrender his patrol weapon and his personal firearms.
While his wife and ex-girlfriend previously said in court documents that he made them fear for their lives, the women told Munley in court they wanted Miklich to have his weapons again.
"He does help support a family, and we would be grateful if he would be allowed to work," Miklich's wife said.
I am not going to give it back to him if he doesn't have a job. This is serious stuff.Senior Judge Thomas Munley
In the proposed update to the PFA order, Miklich and his wife also would agree to undisclosed terms about a property they co-own as part of their pending divorce.
Moore Township Police Chief Gary West did not respond to a phone call last week seeking comment regarding Miklich's work status, but county District Attorney Terry Houck has confirmed there's an active investigation into Miklich based off the women's PFAs.
Officials in Bangor, where Miklich is a part-time officer, confirmed he is suspended from their department.
READ MORE: Police officer, accused of domestic violence and kidnapping plot, under investigation
Under questioning from Munley, Miklich's attorney Robert Eyer said it is unclear whether his client will be allowed to return to work as a police officer. However, letting him carry his service weapon again would only help his case, Eyer said.
However, Munley refused to arm Miklich for a job he isn't cleared to go back to. Instead, the judge said he would sign off on returning Miklich's weapons if his employers agreed he could return to duty.
"I am not going to give it back to him if he doesn't have a job," Munley said. "This is serious stuff."
Eyer declined to comment after the hearing, as did attorneys Leo Howell, who represents Miklich's ex-girlfriend, and James Madsen, who represents Miklich's wife.
LehighValleyNews.com is not publishing the names of the women who sought protective orders.
Kidnapping and abuse allegations
Court documents show the two filed PFA complaints against Miklich last month.
In one, Miklich's ex-girlfriend said she was contacted by his best friend. The man warned her that Miklich had tried to hire him to "have her kidnapped and beaten for $1,000."
The next day, the same friend arranged for Miklich's wife and the ex-girlfriend to meet with an attorney; the wife was pursuing a divorce, according to court documents.
In her own protection-from-abuse complaint, Miklich's wife alleged that in the past three years Miklich has destroyed furniture, walls, cell phones and doors in their home; choked and assaulted her in front of her child and the ex-girlfriend; and emotionally abused her.
Within minutes of arriving at the friend's Nazareth-area home, the wife alleged, Miklich showed up in uniform. He pounded on the doors and called their cell phones for an hour and a half, according to court documents, and the wife feared for her life.
The ex-girlfriend noted in her PFA that Miklich was supposed to be on duty in Bangor at the time. The ex-girlfriend, who was still on the way, called 911, according to court documents.
Miklich, 34, fled when police arrived, but officers located a tracking device on the wife's car, the wife wrote in her PFA complaint.
In her PFA complaint, the ex-girlfriend said she feared that because he had a police radio, he would discover she called 911 and would retaliate.
She wrote that Miklich emotionally abused her by withholding financial support; creating fake text messages supposedly from his boss and lawyer to make it appear he was divorcing his wife; threatening to leave her and placing a tracking device on her car. The ex-girlfriend alleged she has witnessed him assault his wife.
Domestic violence facts
Domestic violence — cases of willful intimidation, physical assault or other abusive behavior — are common across Pennsylvania and the United States. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 10 million adults are victims of domestic violence in the U.S. every year.
The nonprofit organization says 37.1% of Pennsylvania women and 30.4% of Pennsylvania men experience intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, stalking or some combination of the three in their lifetimes.
If you are being abused, help is available. Speak to someone by calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-877-438-4957, texting START to 88788 or visiting thehotline.org.
