A 40-year-old Endicott man pleaded guilty in Broome County Court to making a terroristic threat after leaving a voicemail on a Child Protective Services account vowing to shoot and kill county CPS employees. Joshua B. Crampton left the threatening message on August 28, 2026, and under the plea agreement he now faces six months at the Broome County Correctional Facility followed by five years of probation.
According to CNY News, Crampton entered his guilty plea before Judge Elizabeth Burns, and the court issued a no-contact order of protection to shield the targeted party. If Crampton violates his probation after completing his jail sentence, he could face up to seven years in state prison. He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on January 12, 2027, at 9 a.m.
The case took a sharper turn when New York State Police arrested Crampton on August 31, 2026. Investigators discovered a firearm at his residence in violation of an existing order of protection, according to Finger Lakes Daily News, which led to additional misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree criminal contempt. Crampton surrendered after being contacted by an investigator, was processed at the State Police barracks in Binghamton, and was transferred to the Broome County Correctional Facility for centralized arraignment, the outlet reported.
How the Threat Was Prosecuted Under State Law
Making a terroristic threat is classified as a Class D felony under New York Penal Law § 490.20, applying when someone threatens a specified offense with intent to intimidate a civilian population or influence government conduct and creates a reasonable fear the threat will be carried out, per FindLaw. The statute also states it is no defense that a person lacked the actual intent or capability to carry out the threat, or that the threat never reached its intended victim directly — language that closes off arguments that a voicemail threat was merely empty words.
The offense remains bail-eligible as a violent felony, a point the New York Court of Appeals affirmed in its June 2025 ruling in People ex rel. Ellis v. Imperati, according to the New York State Unified Court System. That decision resolved conflicting sections of the state's bail reform statutes as they apply to anti-terrorism charges.
Crampton's arrest and arraignment moved through Broome County's Centralized Arraignment Part, housed at the county correctional facility in the Town of Dickinson. The system, created under 2019 state legislation, guarantees legal counsel is present for off-hours court appearances — the same booking process described in Hoodline's earlier I-86 chase coverage from the Town of Dickinson facility.
DA Vows Accountability for Threats Against Public Workers
Broome County District Attorney F. Paul Battisti said threats of violence will never be tolerated in Broome County. He said public servants deserve to serve without fear for their safety, and that his office will pursue accountability for people who intimidate or threaten public workers. Battisti took office on January 1, 2024, after nearly two decades as a criminal defense attorney handling cases across federal and state courts in New York, and he previously served as president of the Broome County Bar Association.
The investigation into Crampton's threat involved the New York State Police, the Broome County Security Division, and the Southern Tier Crime Analysis Center. Scott Pauly assisted the Broome County District Attorney's Office in prosecuting the case.
Efforts to Protect Child Welfare Workers
Efforts to protect child-welfare employees have included expanded county security escorts and union lobbying.
During the current legislative session, lawmakers introduced bills S6986 and A7831 to establish specific criminal offenses for assault, aggravated assault, and menacing against child protective services workers performing official duties, which would make menacing a CPS worker a Class D felony. Local CPS divisions across New York operate under county departments of social services while interfacing with the state Office of Children and Family Services, which maintains the Statewide Central Register to field abuse and maltreatment reports around the clock.
