On February 7, 2022 at 3:07 PM, Tompkins County Sheriff's Deputies responded to the Cayuga Medical Center located at 101 Harris B. Dates Drive in the Town of Ithaca for a report of a person bringing a handgun into the building.
Upon arrival deputies met with hospital security staff, who reported the discovery by staff of a handgun in a backpack.
Deputies secured the handgun and through further investigation learned that the handgun was brought into the hospital by Ernest E. Lankford, age 43 of Ithaca, NY. Investigation revealed that the handgun was loaded when Lankford possessed it.
Lankford was charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class C Felony). Lankford is a convicted felon and currently on parole. Lankford was remanded to the Tompkins County Jail without bail.
