10 p.m.

The man wanted in connection with the shooting of a Gray man Sunday night was taken into custody about 7 p.m. today at a rental cabin along Roosevelt Trail in Windham, police said.

Jon Brown was captured by the State Police Tactical Team, which surrounded the cabin. He surrendered without incident and was taken to the State Police barracks in Gray for questioning.

State Police, assisted by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Windham Police and the Southern Maine Violent Crimes Task Force, had been searching for Brown all day.

Brown will be charged with attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault and robbery in connection with the shooting of Harold Small late Sunday night inside Small’s house in Gray.

Small underwent emergency surgery today at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. Following questioning, Brown will be taken to the Cumberland County Jail in Portland.  
 

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7:06 p.m

The victim of a shooting last night in Gray is undergoing surgery at Central Maine Medical Center at this hour.

Surgeons are attempting to remove bullet fragments from the man’s brain, said Capt. Don Goulet of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim is 64 years old and lives on Route 26. His name has not been released by officials. He was shot in the head by one bullet from a small-caliber handgun.

“It is a very serious injury, and a very serious surgery,” Goulet said.

Goulet said the victim knew the suspect, 52-year-old Jon Brown. The victim was conscious after he was shot, and was able to speak with investigators, Goulet said.

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“We do have some leads,” as to Brown’s whereabouts, Goulet said, but he declined to elaborate.

Goulet also said the shooting is apparently unrelated to a 1982 incident for which Brown was convicted of attempted murder. Brown was released from prison in September of 1997 for that crime.

1:39 p.m.

The 52-year-old suspect in an attempted murder in Gray on Sunday night has an extensive criminal record, including a prior conviction for attempted murder in Portland in 1982.

Jon Alan Brown was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime on Dec. 27, 1982, according to the state’s criminal records database. He also was sentenced to 10 years in prison for an aggravated assault conviction stemming from the same incident. It is unclear whether those sentences were concurrent.

The state Department of Corrections has not yet responded to a request from The Portland Press Herald seeking the date on which Brown was released from prison.

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Police are seeking Brown in connection with an attack at a home on Route 26. Brown allegedly beat his victim, tied him up and shot him in the head around 11:20 p.m. The victim survived and was able to free himself and call for help.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office at 893-2810.

11:45 a.m.

Authorities are searching for an ex-convict they say tried to kill a man in Gray by shooting him in the head.

Cumberland County Sheriff’s deputies are searching for Jon Brown, 52, with no known address, who they describe as armed and dangerous. Investigators say he used a blunt object to beat a man at a home in Gray on Route 26 near New Gloucester, then tied him up and shot him in the head around 11:20 p.m. Sunday.
 
Brown then drove off, possibly in a white sedan.
 
The wound was not fatal, and the man was able to free himself and go to a neighbor’s to call for help.
 
Brown has served time in Maine State Prison for violent crime, the sheriff’s office said, though his criminal history was not immediately available.
 
He is being sought on a charge of attempted murder. Anyone with information is asked to call 893-2810.
 
The victim was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where he was being treated for serious injuries.

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