VASSALBORO — A 22-year-old man was shot and two people were arrested early Tuesday morning at a home on Whitehouse Road, according to Maine State Police. The arrests, however, were unrelated to the shooting.
Rafael Encarnacion, of Bronx, N.Y., was shot in the abdomen and was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, according to a news release.
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Maine Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland said Tuesday afternoon he didn’t know Encarnacion’s official condition.
“But, all indications are he will survive his wound,” he said.
The shooting was reported about 12:30 a.m. inside 38 Whitehouse Road, which is owned by Joe Gagnon. Detectives said Gagnon fired the shot.
Gagnon, 55, and his girlfriend, 33-year-old Jaimee Laney, were both arrested, but not in connection with the shooting, police said.
Gagnon was charged with violating his bail conditions from a prior arrest and Laney was arrested on a charge of failing to appear in court on a theft charge. She was free later Tuesday on $200 cash bail, according to Deputy Chief Everett Flannery of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.
Both Gagnon and Laney live at the house, though Gagnon has also lived in Augusta in recent weeks, police said.
There were four other people in the house at the time of the shooting.
McCausland said police haven’t yet figured out why the shooting happened.
“The circumstances of the shooting are what investigators are trying to determine,” McCausland said. “They’ll interview everyone involved, everyone that was there.”
Gagnon’s birthday was Monday, according to the news release.
A team of 15 detectives and sheriff’s deputies are investigating the shooting and the district attorney’s office will be consulted as the investigation proceeds, police said. The state’s Major Crimes Unit is heading the investigation.
At the scene this morning, a Maine State Police evidence van was parked outside the ranch-style home and crime scene tape was strung across the driveway entrance.
A nearby neighbor, Kristyn McNear, said she did not hear a disturbance Monday night or early Tuesday.
Gagnon’s bail conditions stem from a Dec. 8 incident in Clinton where he was arrested on a domestic violence charge, according to records from Kennebec County Superior Court. Gagnon was free on $500 bail.
Records also show Gagnon was convicted of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs in 2006 and unlawful possession of scheduled drugs in 2007. He was charged in West Bath District Court in 2008 with operating under the influence, and was charged with criminal mischief in 2011.
Encarnacion was convicted in Lewiston District Court of a charge of operating without a license related to an incident Oct. 3.
Ben McCanna — 861-9239
bmccanna@centralmaine.com
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