Letter: Onondaga Co. sheriff tried to 'influence' judge – Spectrum News

Letter: Onondaga Co. sheriff tried to ‘influence’ judge  Spectrum News

A letter and others were shared with Spectrum News 1 last week from a source. An Onondaga County judge believes incumbent Onondaga County Sheriff Tobias Shelley, a Democrat running for re-election, inappropriately attempted to influence him after the judge rescinded a pistol permit for one of the sheriff's top deputies, according to a leaked memo from the local district attorney. In a letter provided to Spectrum News 1 with a letterhead from the Onondaga County Court, dated June 15, 2026, Onondaga County Court Judge Theodore Limpert, a Democrat, wrote to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Pistol License Unit to “rescind” his “prior decision” to approve a pistol license for Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Chief Custody Deputy Nathan Hawker, who is in charge of the Justice Center, the county jail in downtown Syracuse.

This letter and others were shared with Spectrum News 1 last week from a source who has asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on this matter. According to the letter, Limpert said he was rescinding the pistol license after noticing “an additional page” of notes and recommendations from an investigator on Hawker that included what the judge called “many concerning pieces of information.” Specifically, Hawker’s alleged attempt “to shoot his brother-in-law and making verbal threats to kill his ex-wife.” In a separate letter