King County prosecutors will wait to decide whether to charge a 19-year-old Lake Tapps man with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a man in an Auburn alley last Tuesday morning.

According to court papers, the victim is 29-year-old Robert Zuchowski. No place of residence was given. The Auburn Reporter is withholding the suspect's name because he has not yet been formally charged.

According to court papers, Auburn police objected to the alleged shooter's release from King County Jail, arguing that he is a documented gang member and poses an extreme threat to the community. Prosecutors have 72 hours to charge a suspect from the time of his arrest.

"There will be no decision today with regard to the homicide," Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's office, said Friday. "There will be an ongoing investigation. He does remain in custody on a previous felony harassment charge. His bail on that charge was revoked, and is now set at $1 million. His bail for the homicide is no longer in effect because of the 72-hour rule."

The man is being held at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

According to court papers, Auburn police responded to a shooting in the alley in front of 5 10 K St. S.E. at 11:11 a.m. According to court papers, a witness told police that a man about 20 years old with blond hair and a black jacket had shot his brother in the chest and fled west down the alley.

According to court papers, the witness said that he and Zuchowski had first spotted the suspect making gang signs at them. According to court papers, the witness said Zuchowski made them stop the car they were in, whereupon the suspect ran and Zuchowski followed, the suspect firing a small caliber handgun behind him several times in his flight. Then, court papers say, he turned, took aim, and fired at Zuchowski, who stopped and fell to the ground. According to court papers, the suspect also fired two aimed rounds at the witness before running west down the alley.

According to court papers, an Auburn police officer stopped the suspect four minutes later about four blocks west and slightly north of the scene. The witness positively identified the suspect as the person who had shot his brother.

Police recovered seven .25 caliber shell casings and a 25 caliber Beretta pistol in the alley west of the shooting scene. Investigation showed the gun was stolen.

The suspect at first told police that he had heard shots from the alley but said he didn't know anything about them. He later said that he had heard fireworks.

"We're investigating the claim that the shooting may have been in self defense," said Auburn Police Sgt. Scott Near.

The Auburn Police Department is asking anyone who might have information or surveillance video regarding the shooting to call (253) 931-3080.

Contact Auburn Reporter News reporter Robert Whale at rwhale@auburn-reporter.com or 253-833-0218, ext. 5052.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.