LAMOINE, Maine — Why four Ellsworth men showed up at 749 Douglas Highway early Sunday morning and what led to three of them and one of the home’s occupants being shot — one fatally — are questions Maine State Police investigators are still trying to answer.
“The entire incident remains under state police investigation and no further details are being disclosed, until we are much further along in the case,” spokesman Stephen McCausland said Wednesday.
What police are saying is that Lawrence “Randy” Sinclair, 32, his brother Jacob Sinclair, 24, Torrey Garland, 34, and Joshua McKinney, 25, arrived at the Hancock County home of Michael Carter, 30, and Tacy Mullins, 22, at around 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
Randy Sinclair was mortally shot in the head with a gun and died later that day at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. His friends, Garland and McKinney, along with Carter, also were shot and wounded during the incident.
One gun was collected as evidence, but police are not saying what type of weapon it is or whether it was the only weapon used, McCausland said.
Garland and Carter also were taken to EMMC, where Garland has been listed in critical condition since Monday, the Maine State Police spokesman said. No information is available about Carter, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday.
McKinney was treated at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth and later released, a hospital representative said Wednesday.
Jacob Sinclair and Mullins were not injured in the quadruple shooting on Douglas Highway, the local name for Route 184. The dead man’s brother has indicated the Ellsworth group went to Lamoine to resolve some sort of dispute.
The home is owned by Mullins’ mother, Juanita Mullins.
No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed in the ongoing investigation, McCausland said, adding that detectives still are trying to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the fatal shooting.
Carter, Garland, and the Sinclair brothers all have prior criminal convictions but Mullins and McKinney do not, according to the Maine State Bureau of Identification.
Garland has an unlawful possession of scheduled drugs conviction and Carter has a drug trafficking conviction on his record, along with at least eight convictions for other crimes, according to the state agency’s records.
Jacob Sinclair was convicted in 2008 of disorderly conduct and Randy Sinclair was convicted of assault in 2002, the state background checks show.
Randy Sinclair, who was involved in a car crash on Route 1A in Holden the day before he died, also spent time behind bars for breaking into the Ellsworth Post Office in 2001, according to federal court documents.
Police investigators, working inside and outside the small wooden house where the shootings happened, remained at the scene on Wednesday, a neighbor said.
“We have not drawn any conclusions in and around the shooting,” Lt. Christopher Coleman, who leads the state police Major Crimes Unit for northern Maine, said Monday during a press conference. “Our goal is to get to the bottom of who shot who.”
First of many!
How does this sound? The four guys who showed up at the house in separate vehicles were there to rob the guy who shot them instead of getting robbed and beaten.
The fact that the four showed up in two cars, and at 4:30 in the morning, is telling beyond words. We can infer all we need to know.
to me that would mean they didnt have intent??? why would you want to have to deal with 2 “get-a-away” cars if you went there to start trouble???
Lets suppose that the problem was between Garland and Carter as Sinclair supporters are suggesting. Then how is it that the Sinclairs and McKinney ever showed up at Carters? Garland must of called those three himself then right? For what purpose? Why could he not meet with Carter one on one? And wouldnt any of these guys think it was a bit odd to get a call to come to Carters house at 4 in the morning?
The first liar doesn’t stand a chance…..
This seems like another home invasion that was repulsed, one in Hermon last month, one in Eastbrook last year, with more to come as people ready themselves for these thieves.
The deceased’s brother told the tv station that he didn’t know why they went there because it was so insignificant??? Does he think the public is stupid or is it just the men involved that are??
lol “I can’t remember why I got up at 3:30 in the morning and took separate vehicles to go visit someone I’m mad at”
Sinclair stated on his FB page that the problem was between Carter and one other person. What he wrote on his page makes one think that the problem was between Carter and Garland as he stated Randy was a bit away looking things over. So if the problem was between Garland and Carter then why do the Sinclairs and McKinney show up at all? You can figure out the answers to that question.
It is the police investigators who think the public is stupid enough to believe that they have not come up with a basic conclusion as to who pulled the trigger.
i doubt u will ever know thee truth in this one,no matter what noones gonna admit who did what when one can blame the other.When the other person dies noone is gonna speak up!hopefully the critically ill one will pull through either way,my prayers are with you!!
Wow, as if this story wasn’t sad enough. To read the harsh cruel comments that PEOPLE post is just as sad. I wonder if you were to see the greaving families, and feel their pain if you would stand behind those words you can post anonymously on the web. This is a tradgedy, and the public does not know what happened, and its unfair to speculate and to tear apart the grieving, injured and dead. Lots of people make less then wise decisions and don’t end up dead over it. Someone is responsible, and I hope that justice is served. Condolences to the families!
The wise decision is to not go into someones home uninvited, if that turns out to be what happened in this case. You have to be responsible for your own actions. If your actions put you at risk of being shot and killed it is no different than jumping off a bridge with a rubber band tied to your feet, the rubber band may break……or the homeowner may be armed and ready to defend his family, his home and himself.
It will come out that they or one was in fact invited….
Who knows if they were uninivited? Noone really know anything, and I’m sure what the police know isn’t being shared with the public. The fact is the families effected by this are in pain. And the truth WILL come out. So in the mean time, why not show some shared humanity, and honor the golden rule. Noone knows, its ignorant to speculate… End of story.
So lets all sit here and lie about how sorry we feel.
1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble
Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/193687_bible-verses-scriptures-about-compassion#ixzz1p99XO2Vf
Because thats working out SO well. Thanks but no thanks. I choose reality.
No your right, its not working out well…which is why its even more important to demonstrate those quailities….do what you can. It’ll make a difference! God Bless to you and yours!
That’s just it- some of us DO feel sorry. Sorry for the families of the deceased and the young man who is still fighting for his life. Despite the bad decisions these men may have made, they are still loved by friends and family, and those people are hurting right now. So yes, I do feel sorry. I am not lying.
What is a bad decision in your mind? Is beating someone up in a bathroom and stealing from him a bad decision? Is selling Heroin to teenagers a bad decision? What about terrorizing the mother of your child and her family and getting your family invovled in the terrorizing? Are those bad decisions, or are they serious signs of antisocial, criminal behavior? What if that type of criminal behavior had been occuring for years in some of these individuals?
again the bathroom thing comes up…. was he ever convicted of that crime? NOPE! It was not a random act and it was thrown out because there was a lot more to the story. And again…. he has no kid!! I really wish I could just sit here and let you talk trash when you have no idea but I can’t and I won’t.
Yes, it was not a a random act was it. It was dimissed by the way as the other person didnt want to bring charges. And please tell, me whose kid is it then?
well there are many many children in hancock county and if I knew the kid you were talking about I could probably tell you who he/she belongs to……
Sinclair sent a text message saying he was coming to Carters to kick his a– and rape his Girlfriend. People overheard these guys talking about this at a local restaurant and bar.
Yes, people need to be held accountable for their actions.
Been there and I can tell you we knew what people were most likely saying. We didn’t blame them a bit. We had a private funeral. The deceased drowned with 3 other thugs when their car went into a lake. Somebody driving by about 5 AM noticed because the headlights were still working. We don’t know if they were out drinking or on their way to do a burglary. The one I knew was 20 and had been out of prison only a few months. He spent a lot of his teen years in juvenile hall. His record was for stealing cars and burglary but people were scared of him because of the company he kept. He could be charming to anybody’s mom including mine. His family and friends of his family weren’t scared of him but most of us knew he ran with some violent bully types. There were lots of things I knew about that didn’t make the papers because nobody got arrested. His sister and I were the same age. We met when we were 7. A few years ago we were both at the same house for thanksgiving and she told me what it was like after her brother died. She says it didn’t make any difference if people talked bad about him or not. She could tell how they felt because they didn’t come up to her and say sorry about your brother like most people normally do.
That is really sad. I can imagine how hard that must have been for her
It was sad for all of us but we could understand why other people felt the way they did. Understand that 40 years ago the system wasn’t that much better than it is today. People just didn’t want these young hoods getting back on the streets so fast. I mean the one I knew got busted at least 6 times as an adult and that’s why he got a prison term instead of county jail time. He was only in about a year and got paroled. They didn’t want him dead but it was a relief to some when it happened. I think some cops and his parole officer probably felt that way.
I posted that my cousin had beaten someone to death. He is in prison where he belongs. I do remember him being allright as a kid. But he acted out horribly in society. I think I would be a bit fooolish if I couldnt face the fact that he had killed someone. Individuals and family know us one way, society looks at us in another way. This person that was shot to death did not behave in society in a very good way. He is being judged for his behavior that was public. Perhaps that is not fair. I tend to think that it is fair.
Fair or unfair, it makes no difference to a dead person.
They wouldn’t be greiving if the bullies weren’t out to beat someone. Who is really to blame for their pain? Surely not the guy sleeping when they showed up. They were looking for trouble and they found it. They should all do time and plenty of it. If they show up at my house at that time, they won’t walk away.
hahaha so you’re assuming that Carter was sleeping when they showed up?? Did I miss seeing that in any of the articles??
Honestly, NOONE knows yet. Unless you yourself of course are one of the five men. So Why not just fight the urge to perpetuate hate and negativity, and find some compassion….that was my only point. I’m not a defense lawyer, or a prosecuter….I’m a human being that read a tradgedy, and read a whole lot of hateful, compassionsless, rude and cold comments. Scary. It really is.
I agree that it is extremely sad for the families involved, and they also have my condolences. That being said, sometimes people do in fact choose to live lifestyles that put them at greater risk for these types of situations. Do I feel as sorry for people who choose a risky lifestyle as I do the truly innocent victim who dies at the hands of another while meandering down the street? No. I’m sorry. I don’t, and I think that the comments you are getting so defensive about are probably from the folks feeling the same as I do
Walking/driving onto someone else’s property, w/ the intent to do harm, is quite possibly the least-wise choice one could make.
Brought it on themselves, they’ve been pretty harsh to PEOPLE for years. You know the stories, they are greiving because of the actions of the bullies that had their plan backfire.
Bullies can only survive in a society of cowards.
Jail didn’t teach them anything and I would be willing to bet the Staties are looking for a gun. They don’t care aboout laws and the police don’t seem to care what they do, one of them just got a liquor license for a new lodge, biggest bully around.
Or they survive when there are four bullies and only one guy. That was how they rolled usually.
very well said ….Some of the comments on here make me want to throw up ..I know the Garland family very well & Torrey’s fighting for his life every single day he is still in a coma
maybe he should have stayed home and minded his own business. When you go looking for trouble, youre bound to find it…these boys werent headed to church im guessing. they were looking for a fight and surely found it. no sympathy for avoidable nonsense.
Well put, we simply do not know the facts yet. They may have been “invited” or “inticed” there. It doesn’t matter, alot of mistakes were made that night and nobody had to die. Soon we will have more information when a key witness is able to give his testimony.
I would. Every single thing I have posted. As it is true. I would say Im sorry your son was killed as a result of his lifelong pursuit towards illegal behavior that included robbery, assualt and terrorizing. That would be a true statement. Lots of people in Ellsworth know exactly who these people are. We have had to live with them in our community.
of course they knew they were coming…they were told to come…. it’s called premeditated murder
You obviously only think you know what you’re talking about judging by all of your previous comments. I’d be willing to bet that you’re getting your info straight from the he said/she said sort of crap that’s meaningless nonsense.
The biggest reason I say that is because of one of your comments in a previous article, you said “Carter came out of the house shooting”…sorry but that’s complete BS.
Unless you have direct firsthand knowledge, keep your yap shut and stop spewing lies.
well we’ll find out if that’s complete BS soon enough
You betcha!
There are people who know more about this than what the BDN writes. We’re the ones you’re constantly arguing with.
you couldn’t be more wrong about me, but like I said I can handle it :) for the record I have no record….. just because I believe what I believe doesn’t mean I’m a white trash two bit tramp LOL!! You sleep good too….thanks. Oh and yea I know their records because it’s published in an article!
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure….. but what do I know, I have a cur dog, a shotgun, and a 15-year-old Cadillac. My garage if full of junk, and my cars sit in the driveway.
I keep reading things like, “We were invited,” and “These were invited guests.” I would like to point out there is a distinct difference between, “Hey dude, you should come over and hang at my house,” and “Come over and we’ll just settle this once and for all.” Sure, they’re both technically an invitation, but there is a distinct difference to the undertones. I have a pretty good feeling it was the latter that was said.
Except that there was a text sent by the deceased Sinclair to Carter saying that he was going to come with his friends and kick his ask and rape his girlfriend. Besides Jake Sinclair has made comments saying that this really had nothing to do with the Sinclairs or McKinney. So why were they even there?
Pretty much my point. Either they threatened him and then showed up at his house, or he threatened them and they showed up at his house. Either way, not exactly innocent people being “murdered in cold blood” as some would try to have us believe.
As I sit here reading these comments, I just cannot believe there is people out there with such cold hearts, regardless of what has happened, there is family and friends grieving..please people have some respect and shame on you Bangor Daily for posting any of it…..
Well, the people involved didn’t have any regard for their family, friends etc when they pulled this “stunt”. Why would you expect any different from a gossip mill.
It is all just so sad….but they are not saying exactly what happen the only fact known is that someone died and another may also die…..and families are grieving and this gossip mill is just wrong….especially not knowing!!
Maine has a “Bureau of identification?” Germany had one of those between 1932, and 1944.
Yes, its run by the State Police. They do background checks, not to the degree of the FBI though. They run the SO Registry. They also are involved in Liqour License Applications.
Look at the people that ‘liked’ it, that’s scary that they don’t know this is in every state. WOW
What state doesn’t have one? They all do, the state version of the FBI. Nothing new here. Hitler shut down unions in 1933 and started with naionalism, first signs of fascism.
YUPPERS
Human life was lost and that isn’t funny.
Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap! The level of maturity in this comment section is appalling: on both sides!
Sometime I miss living in a place where the crimes were more anonymous: no local yokels yapping about who was in the right all day long. Sheesh…
Still haven’t found the other gun, huh? What else could you be looking for and I don’t believe for a minute those felons went over there without one, cowards.
Oh I am sure they had a gun…and probably a couple baseball bats!
I was wondering the same thing. If either or both of the 2 who live there says they saw a gun, that would explain why they were searching so much in the woods and stuff around there. I know that one of them definitely had a felony conviction because he did federal prison time. Not sure if all 4 were felons. Sometimes gangs have a non-felon transport the gun to a fight in a separate vehicle.
Gangs?? Guess that would explain the two vehicles. What a stupid thing to do, they’ll find the gun if it’s there. This sounds like an incident that happened in Winter Harbor a few years back.
What happened in Winter Harbor a few years ago?
A man knocked on another man”s door and asked for help with a flat tire. When he drove down to help this guy, there were a few others there and no flat. They beat the beejezuz out of him and shot up his truck. His offense I understand was seeing/talking to a girl of one of the gang. Big men.
Oh wow!
I won’t say which one but one of these guys was involved.
Can’t say I find that surprising in any way.
Same sort of thing happened in Trenton some years back at a place diagonal from the Old Green Moth.
Old Green Moth? I don’t remember it.
Hmm that wouldn’t happen to be a Wentworth property now would it??
McKinney has no record other than driving on a suspended license. The Sinclairs have a record and Garland has a record for heroin possession.
According to the younger Sinclairs facebook postings, he and McKinney were together in one of the vehicles. I don’t know if he has a felony conviction. If they had a firearm in that vehicle it would explain why they were shot at while in the vehicle. If neither of them have felonies and they brought a gun it would explain why the other 2 went in a separate vehicle. But all I know is that I saw cops using a metal detector and shovel in the news video. If there was another gun they probably found it. If there were threatening text messages they already have copies. I do know that it’s a common tactic to have non-felons transport the guns in case they get pulled over by a cop. That even applies on the way back home if the gun didn’t get fired.
Good point my dear Watson. :)
does anyone read the newpaper before posting??? yes no one should have been there and as far as a gun carter was the one with one and he has at least nine criminal convictions ….What was he doing with one? You people may not like the sincliares and yes they were trouble but THEY were all trouble!!!!!!! And the most trouble was Carter.
He was at his own home, trouble came to him but nice try. :)
not trying ….just putting up my opinoin isnt that what ever one is doing here…..
He probably shot himself in the leg to punish himself, right?
maybe he shot himself accidently or maybe to cover up what might have happened…..the truth will come out ……like i said in my post i dont agree with any of it just think all were at fault not just the sincliares…..and that is all i seem to be reading about!!!!!!
Carter is no prize. However I dont think his record including anything like terrorizing and assualt did it?
—
or willy’s guns shop
Someone posting as Kristy Blackwood has been on these threads. She says she is a close friend of the Sinclairs. She has advised people to be wary(she wrote weary) of posting things against the Sinclairs for their own personal safeties sake. Terrorizing was one of Randy Sinclairs specialties.
It’s all the Sinclairs specialties!
I disagree, not all in this family are bullies. There are actually quite a few who are great people.
That is a fact. Unfortunately the bad actions of some of them going over many years clings like a stain over all of them.
They went looking for trouble all the time, often in groups of three or more and they brought trouble on a lot of people. Trouble found them this time.
As Johnny Most used to say justice prevailed.
I find it unbelievable that the police have not yet figured out who the person or persons were who pulled the trigger at the scene in Lamoine last weekend. With half a dozen people who were there at the scene, who are still alive, I fail to understand how they can’t have come up with the truth. Is everyone simply refusing to talk at all? And if so, why haven’t they said as much. In the case of the missing toddler in Waterville, the police had no problem announcing that people were not cooperating. But in the Lamoine incident, just crickets from the police. Makes me think that they are all just incompetent.
It’s one thing to “know” what happened and quite another thing to prove it in a court of law. One of the participants is still in critical condition and as far as we know the police have not been able to talk to him yet. I’m all for the police proceeding cautiously and in a methodical manner in order to collect evidence that cannot be thrown out later because of hasty mistakes. Crime lab tests take longer than everyone thinks as well. Just because they haven’t announced anything doesn’t mean that they don’t know; they may not want to say anything in order not to compromise the investigation.
exactly!!!!!
Well, as usual the truth will be hidden from the public, for our own good, until so much time has passed that we all forget the names and particulars of what happened in the first place. And everybody seems happy with that, so who am I to disagree.
i think the police know alot more than we all know just making sure they talk to all involved and im sure waiting in forensics before they announce anything to the public…..as you have read the people involved are not a nice crowd and they dont want to make mistakes….thats my OPINION….
I think they are looking for a gun, there is no other reason to still be there. I also think they will find one.
and you will choke on those words….. and I can’t wait. You have been so hateful on here, it really makes me wonder just what they’ve ever done to you personally. The family has tons and tons of support….it doesn’t show on BDN, but the support for them is incredible, and it makes me realize that there are still compassionate, considerate people in this area, because you wouldn’t think so from reading the ignorant comments here. I really shouldn’t let YOU of all people get to me, or give you the satisfaction of arguing, but I will defend this family.
Maybe that is so…but then when thr truth does come out of what happened that night do you think if it’s against that family that they will still have that support? Probably most people who are supporting them wont support them in the end if the evidence goes against them right? And what people are posting does not mean they are not compassionate it just means that they have a right to post their opinions. Freedom of speech!
Yes I do believe they would still have huge support, but I also think the truth will be in favor of the 4….
Well then….We shall see!
Listen, I don’t care what or who you support. You have been hateful to everyone, witness your posting name. I am entitled to my opinion whether you like it or not. You seem to be a bit of a bully yourself, perhaps, that’s why you defend them so ardently. :(
It’s pretty clear reading the posts on this article and on several others that public opinion has already been set. Regardless of the outcome, the Sinclair’s have already met their jury and judge, via their peers…
I am not saying they are innocent… I have no basis for beleiving they are, and like many I find the activity that night highly suspicious, but I am tired of everyone throwing in comments and suspicions that are not yet warranted! No one really knows what happened there that night except for the participants. I do not think anyone is entirely innocent except for possibly the 22 year old girlfriend and even that is questionable. I really think we all need to take a back seat and see what the experts have to say. Regardless on what any of us think we know, or assume, it will come down to the “experts” as to what happened. All of this arguing back and forth does no one any good.
couldn’t have said it better myself!!!! Thank you for saying excatly what i have been trying to say but couldn’t find the right words……bravo