DATE: April 10, 2026
CASE: Desean Brasser (Case #22FE017474)
PROSECUTOR: Supervising Deputy District Attorney Kevin Jones
The Honorable Michael Sweet sentenced Desean Brasser to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On March 5, 2026, Brasser was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder. The jury also found true allegations that the murder was committed during the commission of a robbery and that Brasser personally discharged a firearm causing death.
On October 20, 2022, the victim, Charles Starzynski, went to a bank ATM in midtown to make business deposits for a local food chain. As he walked back to his car, he carried a blue bank bag and put it in his trunk. Desean Brasser was a passenger in a nearby vehicle driven by Tajenae Cooper. When the victim drove out of the parking lot of the bank, Cooper followed him into a parking alley behind the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club. The victim got out of his car and stood behind his vehicle with his trunk open. Cooper then pulled up next to the victim and Brasser exited the vehicle armed with a gun. A witness heard Brasser yell “give me the bag” as he approached the victim and reached into the trunk to steal the bank bag. Brasser then pulled items out of the trunk before shooting the victim in the head, killing him. Brasser then jumped back into the vehicle and Cooper sped off. Sacramento police investigated quickly and soon located the suspect vehicle parked in an apartment complex. After a SWAT callout, Brasser and Cooper were arrested. The evidence in the case included video, DNA from a cellphone dropped by the gunman matching Brasser, and ballistics matching a gun located in Brasser’s mother’s house.