After a three day manhunt, police arrested a man they say shot a woman in the head Monday at a home in Belmont
Jason Cuocolo, 42, was arrested without incident around 1 p.m. Friday walking along Route 3 near the Vacation Escape Motel in Meredith.
Cuocolo, who recently lived in Meredith and Rockland, Mass., is charged with first degree assault, armed robbery with a firearm, and criminal threatening with a firearm.
A passing motorist, who had heard about the case and was familiar with the suspect’s description, reported seeing him walking along the road, police said.
“We received multiple tips that put him in or near that hotel and we believe he spent a significant amount of time in that area,” State Police Lt. Scott Gilbert said.
On Monday, police responded to a home at 24 Arlene Drive in Belmont and found a 33 year-old woman shot in the head. She was taken to Lakes Region Hospital and later flown to Dartmouth Hitchcock medical center in Lebanon in critical condition.
The home belongs to Elizabeth Gates and Shane Farmer, according to property tax records.
The search for Cuocolo began Tuesday. Police said he fled the scene of the shooting, stole a car from the residence and drove to the Vacation Escape Motel in Meredith. Motel manager Nancy Brown said Cuocolo asked her for a room Tuesday night, but there was no vacancy.
“I didn’t have one,” she said Wednesday. “He was just very disappointed . . . very agitated. He wanted one bad.”
Cuocolo left, and police later found the abandoned car.
Officers from Belmont, Laconia, Meredith, State police and Federal Marshals continued to search Wednesday and Thursday using K-9 units and helicopters.
Cuocolo was the only suspect in the incident. Police said he and the woman know each other, though the nature of the incident is not domestic.
(Staff writer Alyssa Dandrea contributed to this report.)