Letters obtained by a local news outlet allege that Onondaga County Sheriff Tobias Shelley tried to pressure a county court judge over a pistol license for one of his own deputies, Nathan Hawker, who leads custody operations at the Justice Center jail in downtown Syracuse. Judge Theodore Limpert had rescinded his earlier approval of Hawker's license in a June 15 letter, citing Hawker's criminal history and what the letter describes as numerous acts of violence against others. Shelley denies ever trying to sway the judge and says he never even called him.
According to Spectrum News, Limpert's June 15 letter to the sheriff's office pistol license unit said he had noticed an additional page of investigator notes and recommendations about Hawker that contained concerning information. The letter reportedly cites an alleged attempt by Hawker to shoot his brother-in-law and verbal threats to kill his ex-wife. The sheriff's office told the outlet those incidents happened in 1993, though Spectrum News said it was still working to confirm them through court records.
An anonymous source who was not authorized to speak on the matter shared the letters with the outlet the week before publication, according to the report. Shelley has pushed back hard on the characterization that he tried to influence the judge's decision, saying he had emails between himself and Limpert that he could share to prove it.
What the Memo Alleges
A separate memo dated July 28 paints a more pointed picture, according to the same report: it states that Shelley contacted Limpert by calls and texts that the judge considered inappropriate efforts to influence his ruling. The memo also raises the possibility that an unknown person may have altered Hawker's pistol permit application file, with Limpert reportedly believing the file could have been changed in an effort to deceive him.
District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, a Republican, wrote in the memo that he told a state police commander his agency might receive a referral for a possible criminal investigation into Hawker's application, per the outlet's account. Fitzpatrick said his office could not participate in any such investigation because of a conflict of interest and planned to appoint a special prosecutor if legal advice or subpoenas became necessary. When reached, Fitzpatrick told Spectrum News he was unable to confirm anything and had no comment.
A letter dated August 13 indicates the New York State Police superintendent forwarded the matter to the agency's bureau of criminal investigation for further action, the outlet reported. New York State Police said in a statement that the investigation was ongoing and that it could not discuss details that might compromise it.
Shelley's Defense
Shelley has framed the allegations as a political hit job timed to the campaign calendar. He told the outlet the story was surfacing just days before Election Day and that a state police superintendent had assured him there was nothing to the investigation. He also said he had nothing to hide and called the disclosure politically motivated.
On the substance of the pistol license, Shelley said he wrote a letter for Hawker to bring to his appeal but insisted it did not ask the judge to grant Hawker a permit. He acknowledged Limpert's June 15 letter and said he was already aware of Hawker's past history with law enforcement. Shelley argued Hawker had been vetted over time and should be judged in light of the years since his mistakes, adding that he believes Hawker has redeemed himself through his conduct since his earlier domestic issues.
In text messages that Shelley said were exchanged between himself and Limpert, the sheriff pointed to the judge's decision to rescind Hawker's permit approval and noted that Hawker had been allowed to carry and teach firearms under three different sheriffs. Limpert, for his part, said in those same messages that it appeared there had been attempts to circumvent the process and that he had recused himself from the matter.
Records Request Denied
The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office denied the outlet's request for all documents related to the incident, saying the denial was in accordance with state law exempting public officers from such inquiries. Hawker has decades of experience in law enforcement and the military and was issued a New York weapons permit at least once before, in April 2010, according to public records cited in the report.
Shelley, a Democrat, has served as Onondaga County sheriff since January 1, 2023, after joining the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office Police Division back in 1994. He is now running for re-election, a race in which his opponent is RJ Lenhart, an investigator in Fitzpatrick's office and a Republican. Limpert, the judge at the center of the dispute, is also a Democrat.
New York's judicial ethics guidance, published by the New York State Unified Court System, generally bars judges from initiating, permitting, or considering communications made outside the presence of the parties or their lawyers concerning a pending proceeding. Whether any particular exchange between Shelley and Limpert crossed that line has not been independently established, and the full contents of the letters, the memo, and the underlying communications have not been made public.
