Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins is taking a medical leave, nearly three weeks after he was charged with extorting a Boston-based cannabis company.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and state Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued a joint statement Wednesday morning, saying Tompkins "has agreed to step away from his position until the federal case against him is resolved."

Special Sheriff Mark Lawhorne will cover the position for now, Healey and Campbell said.

Tompkins's lawyer, Marty Weinberg, then issued his own statement saying his client took "medical leave" starting Tuesday, "following the strong recommendation of his treating physician."  

"Sheriff Tompkins will use this time to meet the challenge resulting from a serious medical issue while he and I work to safeguard his freedom by preparing his defense to what we strongly contend is an unwarranted accusation," Weinberg said. He did not say what medical issue Tompkins is being treated for.

Tompkins, 67, was arrested by FBI agents in Florida back on August 8. He's accused of giving the unidentified cannabis company $50,000 in November 2020 to buy stock in the business. Tompkins allegedly pressured someone in the business to sell the stock to him before the company went public. Documents from the Cannabis Control Commission revealed that Tompkins was working at the time with Ascend Wellness Holdings in Boston.  When the stock's value dropped in May 2022, prosecutors said Tompkins demanded a refund of his $50,000 investment. The U.S. Attorney said that Tompkins got the money back in five separate checks that were marked as loan repayments and company expenses.

Tompkins was arraigned in federal court in Boston on August 21 and pleaded not guilty to two extortion charges. His next hearing in the case is on October 16. Thompkins has been has been Suffolk County Sheriff since 2013. He's up for re-election in 2028.

"The allegations against Sheriff Tompkins are serious," Healey said Wednesday. "The Suffolk County Sheriff is responsible for managing more than a thousand employees, hundreds of inmates and programs that are essential to public safety and rehabilitation. It is a full-time job that demands full time attention. The people of Massachusetts need to be able to trust in the integrity of the criminal justice system and that their elected officials are fully engaged in the work of serving the public."

"This is the right step for the Sheriff's Office and the public as a whole, as it avoids prolonged proceedings before the Supreme Judicial Court," Campbell said.

"The Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association stands ready to support Special Sheriff Mark Lawhorne and all of the public safety professionals at the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office," a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association said.