Prosecutors on Thursday charged an Auburn man with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 48-year-old Thomas J. Bennett during the early hours of March 30 in the parking lot of the Auburn Top Foods store at 1702 Auburn Way N.

Aenoy Phasay, 28, is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m., April 13 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. He is in jail at the RJC on $1 million bail.

The Medical Examiner completed its autopsy Wednesday morning and determined that Bennett Sr. died of multiple gunshot wounds, one to the right side of his head and one to the left back.

Auburn police say the Kent man shot Bennett to death in front of Bennett’s own son during a confrontation in the parking lot of the store that had been set up to solve a running dispute between the two.

The gunman fled on foot, and police used a K-9 unit to search the area of the shooting. Police took Phasay into custody at the Kentbrook Apartments on South 248th Street at 9:40 a.m. Tuesday. He was alone at the time of his arrest.

“He was taken into custody without incident and was exiting the house when SWAT officers were taking position and about to attempt contact,” said Auburn Police Sgt. David Colglazier.

Auburn Police Detective Michael Jordan offered the following account in charging papers.

Thomas Bennett Jr. called 911 at 3:01 a.m. to report that his father had just been shot in the Top Foods parking lot. At the same time, a second caller reported hearing three gunshots from the east side of the lot. The responding police officer found the mortally-wounded man lying on the ground just outside the open driver’s side door of a silver Land Rover, with one foot still inside the vehicle. He had sustained two obvious gunshot wounds, one to his torso and one to his head. The officer performed CPR until medics arrived, but Bennett Sr. was pronounced dead at the scene 15 minutes later.

Officers found three spent shell casings and three unspent cartridges nearby.

According to the police account, Bennett Jr. identified the shooter as Phasay, who has a child with Bennett Jr.’s older half sister.

Bennett Jr. told police that he and his father had left their home in Edgewood at about 1 :30 a.m. to find Phasay so the two could settle their differences in the parking lot.

Bennett Jr. told police that he went to support his father. He told police that they parked across the street from parking lot on 18th Street Northeast and waited for Phasay to arrive.

According to the police account, Bennett Jr. said that when Phasay arrived, his father asked Phasay to get into the back seat, but the younger man refused, and the two started arguing. Bennett Jr. told police that his father got out of the drivers seat and that he, Bennett Jr., stayed in the passenger seat. Bennett Jr. told police that the two men got into a fight behind the car, and that he got out to stop it. He said that his father got back into the driver’s seat of the car, but that as father was doing so, Phasay approached the older man and punched him in the head.

Bennett Jr. told police that he heard his father say something like “you didn’t” and that at that point Phasay produced a black semiautomatic Glock handgun. Bennett Jr. immediately left the car, crawled to the rear and lay down on the ground. Bennett Jr. told police that he heard several gun shots. Bennett Jr. said that after he heard the gun shots, Phasay walked around the car to where he was and pointed the handgun at him. He told police that he begged Phasay not to shoot him, and that Phasay told him “don’t say a word” and took off running.

Detectives identified Phasay’s address, and Valley SWAT arrived at the Kentbrook Apartments to serve a warrant on his apartment. They parked their SWAT vehicle in the parking lot, but Phasay left his apartment and immediately surrendered.

During a post-arrest statement to detectives, Phasay initially claimed that he shot Bennett Sr. while defending himself during this confrontation, but allegedly later admitted that Bennett Jr. had broken up the first fight and that Bennett Sr. had returned to the driver’s seat of the car.

According to Jordan’s account, Phasay told detectives that he “might have been angry” and approached Bennett Sr. while he sat in the driver’s seat of the car. Phasay admitted to then punching the older man in the face and stepped back to pull the pistol from his waistband. Phasay allegedly told detectives that he shot Bennett two times. Phasay allegedly also told detectives that he then walked over to Bennett Jr. and told him not to “say anything.”

Phasay told detectives that he then returned to his vehicle and drove to the Tacoma Narrrows Bridge, thought about jumping off, but instead threw the gun off the bridge and returned to his apartment.