Auburn man charged with killing a man with a flare gun

AUBURN — A 29-year-old Auburn man waited nearly an hour to call 911 after shooting a man in the chest last week with a flare gun, killing him, according to King County prosecutors.

Philip Urban was charged Monday with second-degree murder, accused of firing a modified shotgun shell at Bryan Lesick, 41, charging papers say. By the time police and medics arrived, Lesick was unresponsive and cold to the touch, the Seattle Times reported.

Urban remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, jail and court records show. It does not yet appear that an attorney has been retained on his behalf.

Just after 2:30 p.m. last Wednesday, Urban called 911 and said he had shot a man, the charges say. Police arrived and found a flare gun and a man with a large hole in his chest who was declared dead at the scene.

Police say Urban told officers he’d gone to bed after working a night shift and woke up to find Lesick in the kitchen, cooking, the charges said. Apparently angry that people were using his apartment as a “flop house,” police say Urban claimed he and Lesick got into a fight.

Urban told police he called 911 after searching for his phone for 30 minutes and talking to a friend for another 20 minutes, the charges say.