A 22-year-old man arrested after being found with a rifle near Syracuse University has been released from jail after posting bail.
The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to NewsChannel 9 in Syracuse that Mateu Healey-Parera was released Wednesday afternoon after $50,000 bail was paid by cashier’s check.
The payment came just hours after the man appeared in Syracuse City Court, where a judge denied a request from his attorneys to lower the bail or bond amount. Bail remained set at $50,000 cash or $50,000 bond.
Police say Healey-Parera was found with a rifle case on Waverly Avenue near Syracuse University. Officers were alerted after the university’s Department of Public Safety received a report about a suspicious person near Crouse College.
Authorities located him behind the Schine Student Center around the same time fans were heading to a Syracuse Orange basketball game at the nearby JMA Wireless Dome.
Police also reported finding ammunition inside a backpack he was carrying.
His defense attorney said the 22-year-old Cornell student was not on the SU campus for any specific reason and was simply using the location as a bus stop while traveling to and from Ithaca. The attorney said his client had come to Syracuse earlier in the day to purchase a hunting rifle and was waiting for a bus back to his residence when he was stopped by police.
The attorney added his client has no previous criminal history.
