WESTON, W.Va. — An accused murderer who took off from the state mental hospital in Weston this week is now being held in the North Central Regional Jail on $200,000 bail. Rocco Zuccaro, 30, of Burgettestown, Pa., was arraigned on a felony escape charge Thursday morning.
Zuccaro scaled a 15-high brick wall at the Sharpe Hospital before escaping into a wooded area. He was found late Wednesday night in some tall grass in the McWhorter community near Lost Creek.
“We are relieved and appreciative of the fact that law enforcement was able to locate Mr. Zuccaro and now that we know he is back safely in custody where he wouldn’t pose a danger to himself or anyone else in the community,” Brooke County Assistant Prosecutor David Cross told MetroNews Thursday.
Zuccaro is charged with murder in Brooke County where he allegedly shot and killed Jason Bratz in 2013. Cross said he is scheduled to go on trial in June.
“We are very hopeful to conclude the matter and bring it to trial. We will await the results of what the jury decides,” Cross said.
Zuccaro has been a patient at the Sharpe Hospital for what assistant prosecutor Cross described as “competency restoration.” Zuccaro was recaptured 15 miles away from the hospital, which isn’t unusual in these types of cases according to Cross.
“Normally they are located within 30 to 40 miles of the facility they escaped from,” he said.
There was no word Thursday afternoon if Zuccaro would be sent back to Sharpe Hospital.