On a Saturday morning in June of 2020, a tragic event unfolded at the Home Place Inn on College Avenue in Waterville, Maine, that would ultimately claim the life of Joseph T. Tracy, a 33-year-old Caucasian male. The incident, which began with a call to the Waterville Police Department around 11 a.m. on June 6, 2020, led to the discovery of Tracy in one of the inn's rooms with a gunshot wound.
He was initially transported by ambulance to MaineGeneral's Thayer Center for Health and later airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland due to the severity of his injuries. Despite medical efforts, Joseph Tracy succumbed to his injuries and passed away on Monday, June 8, 2020, at the Androscoggin Hospice House in Auburn, surrounded by his family.
The investigation into the shooting was a collaborative effort between the Waterville Police Department and the Maine State Police. For a time, details surrounding the circumstances of the shooting were not publicly released as investigators worked to piece together the events of that morning. An autopsy conducted by the state medical examiner's office confirmed that Tracy's death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck and back, which resulted in a spinal cord perforation. His father later shared that neurologists had indicated that had his son survived, he likely would have been a paraplegic. Tracy, who had attended Lawrence High School, was remembered by friends and family as a generous and loving person with a big heart who was always willing to help others.
A significant development in the case came in March 2021 with the arrest of Jashaun Lipscombe of New York City. An unsealed police affidavit revealed the alleged motive behind the shooting. According to the investigation, Lipscombe, who was 21 at the time, became enraged with Tracy for being an hour late to give him a ride to the Bangor airport. This anger allegedly led to the fatal shooting. Following his arrest in Queens, New York, on other charges, Lipscombe was indicted on murder charges by a Kennebec County grand jury in May 2021 and was expected to be extradited to Maine to face trial. At the scene of the shooting, police had encountered a wounded but conscious Tracy, who, at the time, would not disclose the identity of the person who shot him.
