ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – A Cornell student charged with having a gun on the Syracuse University campus is out on bail.
On March 11, Mateu Healey-Parera reportedly posted $50,000 bail after he was arrested last Saturday and charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds.
According to WSYR-TV, Healey-Parera’s defense team says he traveled to Syracuse to purchase a rifle from a licensed dealer. He was dropped off at the SU campus stop earlier that day and returned to the same stop to catch a ride back to Ithaca.
Syracuse Police confirmed in their initial response that Healey-Parera was found with a rifle and a scope consistent with use for hunting, and that the gun was unloaded. He did, however, have ammunition in a backpack.
Healey-Parera’s defense attorney adds that the 22-year-old has no criminal record, and it was his constitutional right to buy the gun.
Meantime, in an affidavit obtained by the Syracuse Post-Standard, Syracuse Police Officer William Clayton says Healey-Parera told him he bought the rifle in the event U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “illegally detained” him or “surrounded his residence.” Healey-Parera has dual citizenship in Spain and the United States.
Authorities are seeking an extreme risk protection order (ERPO), which prevents Healey-Parera from purchasing or possessing a firearm. A temporary order was granted on Sunday. A final ERPO hearing is scheduled for this Friday in Ithaca.
