Courtesy Photo Zechariah Utecht appears in this undated photo provided by the Alpena County Jail.

ALPENA – A man wanted for murder and found hiding in an Alpena home last month faces accusations he fired a gun in a South Carolina shootout that left a woman dead.

Alpena police say they discovered Zechariah Utecht, 19, in a storage space of a Long Lake Avenue home while visiting the house on an unrelated matter on March 25.

A search of a law enforcement database showed that Utecht was wanted by Spartanburg, South Carolina police related to a March 13 homicide.

Initially mum about the details of the killing, Spartanburg police in a press conference last week said Utecht was among four men identified as gunmen in a shootout between two groups of men in the parking lot of an apartment complex.

Police believe the shootout was gang-related.

Police arriving on the scene on March 13 found a large crowd of people, 117 spent shell casings, and a 21-year-old woman, dead from a gunshot wound.

Police believe the woman was a bystander and not involved in the shooting between the men.

A witness viewing a photo lineup identified Utecht and three other men as shooters. The four have been charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

South Carolina police say they expect to make other arrests related to the shooting.

Utecht will remain lodged in the Alpena County Jail until South Carolina police make arrangements to transport him home.

Police there had no idea Utecht had fled to Michigan after the killing until Alpena police found him, according to Lt. Kevin Bobo, public information officer with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.

Alpena Police Department officers on March 25 also arrested Utecht’s brother, James Utecht, 28, who they found hiding with his brother in the storage space. James Utecht was wanted on local warrants for failing to appear at court hearings on charges unrelated to his brother.

Alpena police believe Zechariah Utecht may have come to Alpena because he had family in the area, according to Sgt. Steve Davis, APD detective.

Zechariah Utecht is scheduled to appear in an Alpena courtroom for an extradition hearing on Thursday.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.