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Law enforcement officers take part in a perimeter during a manhunt Sunday night, Nov. 6, 2016 in Rainbow City, Ala.

(William Thornton / wthornton@al.com)

Hunter Bellew

A man authorities sought in connection with a Sunday homicide is in custody.

Hunter Dewayne Bellew, 18, was booked into the Etowah County Jail at 7:21 this morning, according to the jail log.

Authorities were searching for Bellew in connection with the killing of Tony McCartney, 50.

McCartney's body was found in the bedroom of his home in the 4900 block of Riddles Bend Road around noon today. Police had been called to the residence on a welfare check after McCartney's son reported he could not reach his father.

Rainbow City Police Chief Jonathon Horton said McCartney was killed by a gunshot wound to the head and may have been shot in his sleep as part of a "robbery gone bad."

Bellew was an acquaintance of the victim and at one time lived about a mile from McCartney's house in the Shawnee Circle area, he said.

Horton said police encountered "a wild scene" at the victim's home on 50 acres of property. Police believe some of the victim's weapons may have been taken, and some clothes were found near a pond on the property.

In addition, police discovered one of the victim's vehicles wrecked after hitting a tree, and another one missing. That vehicle, a white Toyota Tacoma, was discovered this morning in the parking lot of Walnut Park Baptist Church.

On Sunday night, authorities were engaged in a manhunt for Bellew in the Shawnee Circle neighborhood.

Horton said a resident saw a figure in the roadway who fled into the woods around 6:30 p.m. Police called the U.S. Marshals, the St. Clair County dog team and the Etowah County Sheriff's Office's helicopter. A perimeter was set up in the area.

Then, authorities pulled back shortly after 10 p.m. Around midnight, police encountered a woman at an Attalla motel who told them she had given Bellew a ride to the neighborhood McCartney lived in Saturday night. At that same time, police attempted a traffic stop on two men who continued into East Gadsden, where they were captured. Police recovered a rifle in that vehicle which may have been used in the killing, Horton said.

Following those arrests, police received information that Bellew was in a home on Wilson Avenue in East Gadsden. He was arrested around 3 a.m. following a chase in that area, Horton said. Police also recovered two weapons at another location in Walnut Park.

The investigation is continuing.