LAMOINE (AP) — Maine state police said Monday it’s going to take additional time for detectives to figure out who pulled the trigger during a weekend confrontation outside a house that left a home builder dead and three others injured.

Detectives recovered a gun and identified all the participants but were unsure of what led to the shootings early Sunday, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

“There was a confrontation in the front yard that involved gunfire. What we’re trying to do is to piece together exactly what happened,” he said.

Lawrence “Randy” Sinclair, 32, of Ellsworth, died from a single gunshot wound to the head, the state medical examiner’s office said Monday. A second victim, Torrey Garland, 34, of Ellsworth, remained hospitalized Monday with life-threatening injuries.

The shootings happened outside a Lamoine house where Michael Carter, 30, was living with Tacy Mullins, 22.

Emergency responders were alerted when a woman called from the home to request medical assistance at 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

A neighbor across the street said he heard 10 gunshots.

“This is crazy,” the neighbor, Harold Pottle, told WLBZ-TV.

Sinclair, owner of Sinclair Builders in Ellsworth, died at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor several hours after the shootings, and Garland remained at the hospital on Monday, officials said.

Carter also was shot along with Joshua McKinney, 35, of Ellsworth; their injuries weren’t considered life-threatening, police said.

All five men have had brushes with the law, ranging from operating under the influence to assault and drug charges. In 2002, Randy Sinclair pleaded guilty federal charges of post office burglary. Police described it as an attempted bank vault heist.

On Monday, the investigation continued outside the house, where evidence technicians placed yellow tags on the ground and on the steps leading into the house. A gun was recovered from the scene, said State Police Lt. Christopher Coleman.

Detectives need to interview additional witnesses, including Garland, Coleman said.

“Our goal is to get to the bottom of who shot who,” he said.

Police also were looking into a report that Randy Sinclair crashed his vehicle Saturday a half-mile north of the site of the shootings, McCausland said. It’s unclear whether the accident is linked to the shootings, he said.

Copy the Story Link