A man known as “The Preacher” told police he shot a 33-year-old Laconia woman, but it was an accident.
Jason Cuocolo, 42, of Meredith and Rockland, Mass., said he was pulling the 9mm Glock from his waistband “to protect himself and others” when the woman, only identified as “S.M.” by police, was shot in head.
Cuocolo led police on a three-day manhunt following the Oct. 11 incident at a Belmont home. He was eventually caught in Meredith on Friday, and he was scheduled to appear in Belknap County Superior Court on Monday.
However, Belknap County Attorney Melissa Countway Guldbransen said Cuocolo’s arraignment was canceled after he agreed to $250,000 cash bail and release conditions of no contact with the victim or witnesses at the shooting. He has not yet been able to post bail.
Cuocolo is charged with first-degree assault, criminal threatening, and robbery, all felonies. The three counts stem from an incident last Tuesday, when Belmont police received a report of the shooting just after 1 p.m.
Police arrived at 24 Arlene Drive, where they found S.M. suffering from a gunshot wound just above her eye, according to an affidavit. The bullet traveled through her neck and into her shoulder. Investigators later found a single shell casing, a holster and blood in the basement of the residence.
S.M. was transported to Lakes Region General Hospital and then flown by helicopter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where she was placed in the intensive care unit.
The affidavit shows that S.M., Cuocolo and a couple, J.C. and E.D., met at Family Dollar in Laconia on Oct. 10. They slept in the Belmont home’s basement that night after asking one of the residents, B.M., for a place to stay.
J.C. told police that the next day, he was folding laundry several feet away from Cuocolo and S.M. when “he heard S.M. . . . tell The Preacher (Cuocolo) that they would have to pick up medication today.”
At that point, J.C. said, “he saw The Preacher reach into the waistband of his pants and pull out a black gun” and then “watched this same man raise the firearm, point and shoot S.M. . . . in the head.”
J.C. told police he was helping S.M. when Cuocolo pointed a gun to J.C.’s face and demanded the keys to the black Nissan Altima the four had driven the previous night.
J.C.’s girlfriend, E.D., told police that she was bringing items to the car when she heard the gunshot and then got into the rear seat out of fear. In the affidavit, E.D. said Cuocolo threatened her with the gun and demanded her keys, which she said she gave to him before leaving the car.
E.D. noted in her report to police that she saw a purse in the basement that she noticed contained needles and knew it belong S.M.
H.T., the wife of 24 Arlene Drive resident B.M., said she went outside with her 3-year-old daughter when she saw a man bent over the Nissan. H.T. told police she yelled at him, and he “turned and pointed a gun at her and stated ‘don’t make me do it.’ ”
H.T. said she turned around to shield her child and dialed 911. That, she told police, when she saw the man backing the car out of the driveway. She said she could see someone ducking down in the backseat.
Authorities spent the next three days searching for Cuocolo. Meredith police were familiar with S.M. and Cuocolo due to recent domestic violence investigations, the affidavit said.
Police discovered the Nissan parked at Vacation Escape Motel in Meredith, where motel manager Nancy Brown said that Cuocolo had asked for a room the night of the shooting.
Officers from Belmont, Laconia, Meredith, State police and federal Marshals continued to search Wednesday and Thursday using K-9 units and helicopters. On Friday, they found Cuocolo walking along Route 3 in Meredith near the motel following a tip from a local resident.
“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.
Cuocolo was taken into custody without incident and transported to Belknap County jail on Friday. After waiving his Miranda rights, according to the affidavit, Cuocolo told police he shot S.M. unintentionally when his 9mm Glock went off as he pulled it from his waistband.
This was, Cuocolo said, “to protect himself and others from being harmed by an unknown male who entered 24 Arlene Drive . . . uninvited.”
Police said in the affidavit that Cuocolo refused to identify the man, or another he claimed was also outside the door, for investigators.
(Elodie Reed can be reached at 369-3306, ereed@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @elodie_reed.)