Local man gets life in prison

WELLSBURG, W.Va. – A Burgettstown man convicted of killing a West Virginia man was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole.
Rocco Zuccaro, 29, of 33 Harmon Creek Road, Smith Township, was sentenced Tuesday in Brooke County Circuit Court. He was found guilty of first-degree murder in July following a four-day jury trial.
Judge Ronald Wilson agreed with the jury’s recommendation of no mercy for Zuccaro.
Prosecutors said Zuccaro fatally shot 30-year-old Jason Pratz at Pratz’s home in McKinleyville in February 2013. Investigators did not release a motive in the slaying or say how the two men may have known each other. Zuccaro, who was reportedly the last person seen with Pratz, was arrested two months after the shooting.
In March, Zuccaro escaped from William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston, where he was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation prior to the start of his trial. He was found two days later hiding in tall grass in the area of Jane Lew, W.Va., near a natural gas site.
Lt. Michael Baylous, West Virginia state police spokesman, said Zuccaro climbed a 15-foot brick wall, ran across a yard and then climbed over a chain-link fence before running into a wooded area. Investigators were trying to determine if he had any assistance in his escape.
Following his capture, he was moved to a facility in South Carolina and arraigned on new charges.