A Sacramento man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty of murdering 70-year-old Charles Starzynski during what prosecutors say was a botched robbery in Midtown. Last Friday, a judge sentenced Desean Brasser to life in prison without the possibility of parole, following a March 5 verdict for first-degree murder.
According to a press release from the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, Starzynski had just finished making business deposits at an ATM and was returning to his car near the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club. Prosecutors say he was followed into a parking alley, where a witness reported hearing a man yell give me the bag right before shots were fired.
How Prosecutors Say The Attack Unfolded
At trial, prosecutors laid out a forensic trail they argued pointed straight to Brasser. Jurors were shown surveillance video, DNA evidence recovered from a cellphone left at the scene, and ballistics that investigators linked to a gun associated with Brasser's family home. As reported by KCRA, the jury also found true special enhancements that the killing happened during a robbery and that Brasser personally pulled the trigger.
Victim And Local Reaction
Starzynski was a longtime program director at public radio station CapRadio and, on the day he was killed in October 2022, had been handling business deposits for a local food chain, CapRadio reported. Colleagues and listeners remembered him as a steady presence in Sacramento public radio, a person you might not see but definitely heard, and whose absence was immediately felt across the community.
Legal Notes And What Comes Next
Judge Michael Sweet handed down the life-without-parole sentence on April 10 in case 22FE017474, which was prosecuted by Supervising Deputy District Attorney Kevin Jones, according to the District Attorney's Office. Brasser's alleged accomplice, Tajenae Cooper, pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, according to KCRA.
The District Attorney's Office also shared the case details on its X account, linking to the written statement on the conviction and sentencing. Prosecutors say the blend of video evidence and DNA was key in tying Brasser to the crime and in securing the maximum punishment the court ultimately imposed.
