The Dixmont man who was shot by state troopers Friday at the end an 18-hour police standoff remained in the hospital Tuesday.
Michael Grendell, 61, was flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland Friday morning in critical condition, and was still hospitalized five days later, said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
McCausland said he did not know the extent of Grendell’s injuries or whether he was still listed in critical condition. A hospital spokeswoman was not able to provide an update on his injuries.
Three state troopers shot Grendell around 9:45 a.m. Friday, when the suspect emerged from his home wielding a baseball bat and then a firearm, according to the chief of the state police.
Just moments earlier, police had detonated an explosive inside his Fox Lane home to try to end the standoff, during which Grendell allegedly fired at police officers, police said. Grendell emerged from the wreckage appearing to be wounded but armed, police said. No police were injured during the standoff.
The barricade started around noon Thursday, June 28, when officers went to Grendell’s house after a close friend, Lee Bell, told police that the night before, June 27, Grendell shot at him with a handgun six to eight times without provocation, according to police.
Bell delayed telling police because he feared for Grendell’s mental health, Bell told the BDN. Much like Bell, some residents of Dixmont — a small, rural community of 1,200 — said they were stunned by Grendell’s alleged actions last week.
Grendell has been charged with criminal threatening and reckless conduct related to the June 27 shooting, but he is expected to face further charges related to the standoff.
He had been scheduled to appear in court Monday at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor, but his hospitalization left the date of his future court appearance uncertain, according to Marianne Lynch, assistant district attorney for Penobscot County.
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