Lyons man accused of threatening state officials after previous sticker shop busts in Cayuga, Wayne counties

A local sticker shop operator has been arrested again after allegedly making threats toward state officials.

David A. Tulley, a 42-year-old Lyons resident, was arrested on Saturday by State Troopers in Williamson following alleged threats made towards the New York State Cannabis Management Director.

Tulley is accused of aggravated harassment in the second degree, stemming from a phone call in which he reportedly threatened to cause physical harm to the official.

This incident is not Tulley’s first run-in with law enforcement regarding the state’s cannabis regulation. He was arrested last week after allegedly obstructing officers from the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the Department of Taxation and Finance during an investigation in the town of Ontario. He also operates what the state has described as sticker shops in Cayuga County.

Tulley allegedly drove through a police-sealed area, entered a building under investigation, and locked himself inside, hindering the ongoing operation. As a result, he was charged with obstruction of a governmental administration in the second degree.

In addition to these offences, Tulley is reported to have used social media to voice his disdain for the OCM and the State tax departments. These sticker shops have been controversial in New York. While, the state has decriminalized marijuana, it has been going after operators who are skirting the state’s system to regulate cannabis sales. People like Tulley have pointed to the incredibly slow rollout of cannabis licenses as one, of many, reasons why they have leaned into caveats in state law.

In videos posted online, he purportedly taunted the state agencies with explicit language and criticized their tactics.

After his latest arrest, Tulley was taken to the Wayne County jail for CAP Court and subsequently released to await his court appearance for the harassment charge.