Police: Recovery of Xanax, other drugs led to Castle Court arrests

UPDATED: June 23, 2020 at 7 p.m.

The Syracuse Police Department recovered drugs and arrested four Syracuse University students at Castle Court during a recent investigation on March 30.

After executing a search warrant at 1017 Harrison St., SPD detectives recovered marijuana, ecstasy and Xanax pills, according to an SPD release sent on Tuesday morning.

Christopher Mancino, a senior management major in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, Denzel Deranamie, a junior in the College Of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Transmedia and two others students were arrested.

SPD started the investigation in the Castle Court apartment after a large cardboard box containing 1.16 pounds of marijuana was intercepted by postal workers, according to Syracuse.com.

In addition to the package of marijuana, SPD found 900 Xanax pills, more than 12 ounces of marijuana and a small bag of crystal MDMA in a locked safe under Deranamie’s bed, according to Syracuse.com.

Eighty Xanax pills and two amphetamine/ dextroamphetamine pills — a stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) — were found in Deranamie’s jacket pocket, according to Syracuse.com.

Seventy-two blue, heart-shaped ecstasy pills and two small bags of cocaine were found in a bedroom that appeared to be shared by one student, according to Syracuse.com.

Mancino, 22, was charged with criminal possession of marijuana in the second degree and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to the release.

One student, 22 years old, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third, fifth and seventh degrees, according to the release.

Deranamie, 20, was charged with criminal possession of marijuana in the second and third degrees and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth and seventh degrees, according to the release.

All four students are currently being held in Onondaga County Justice Center, according to the release.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that two of the students previously named are no longer facing criminal charges.