Sacramento leaders discuss gun violence after victim killed in ‘cold-blood’ in broad daylight
City leaders on Monday night met with residents at an East Sacramento tennis club to discuss gun violence and public safety not far from where a man was shot and killed in a robbery last week.
Charles Starzynski was shot about 12:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in an alley next to the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club near 39th and N streets. DeSean Leon Brasser Jr., 23, was later arrested and is accused of murder in Starzynski’s death.
“I can tell you the surge in violent crime that we are seeing is not acceptable,” Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester told the audience at Monday’s community meeting. “I’ve been watching it for the last several years, not just here in Sacramento but nationally. This has been an explosion in violent crime, in particular gun crimes.”
Staff from the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club did not allow news reporters to enter the premises and attend Monday’s meeting, which was organized by one its members. Neighborhood residents were allowed to attend. The event speakers used a microphone, and their voices could be heard from the alley where residents had left behind flowers as a makeshift memorial for Starzynski.
Lester said her officers have taken an increasing number of illegally-possessed guns off the street, but it’s not enough. Officers have confiscated more than 1,000 guns and collected over 400 firearms in two gun buyback events this year. She said her department is on track to surpass last year’s total of 1,600 seized firearms.
“Which is terrifying because there are guns in the community and they are falling into the hands of people that should not have them,” Lester said. “The system is not working well. ... We need the ability to hold people accountable and keep them in custody.”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said it was important for him to listen to fear and anger from residents after “somebody is killed in cold-blood” in the middle of the day. He told residents the city has approved funding for more police officers as retirements thin their ranks, and the city is investing in community resources that address the root causes of crime.
“I am open to any idea that will improve public safety in this community that is real, that is rational and that is thoughtful,” Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg told the audience. “In my heart, I will do anything I can to help make you safer.”
But questions remain about this specific homicide and whether it was a targeted crime or a crime of opportunity.
Starzynski, a 70-year-old former Capital Public Radio executive, had been at the club with friends, as he did on most Thursdays. As he was leaving, he was approached by a suspect in a vehicle who tried to rob him, Sacramento Police Capt. Stephen Moore told the audience at Monday’s community meeting.
Moore said one gunshot was fired during that confrontation, and Starzynski was fatally wounded. The vehicle left the scene. Officers arrived within four minutes, Moore said. Officers found Starzynski who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Moore said the witnesses at the scene gave police two letters of the license plate of the suspect vehicle. Within 45 minutes, investigators identified the suspect vehicle, its license plate and a potential suspect. Moore said detectives within two hours were outside the home of the suspect, later identified as Brasser.
Then police caught up to Brasser as he sat in the car believed to be used in the stick-up.
That night, officers arrested Brasser who reportedly fled from police and tried to hide in an apartment complex on Florin Road and Shoal Court in Sacramento’s Pocket neighborhood.
“The fact that these officers, the investigators, the dispatchers, all with a huge help from the community,” Moore said, “were able to identify this individual within 45 minutes and take him into custody within seven-and-half hours is absolutely amazing.”
The driver behind the wheel was detained briefly, and police said they continue to investigate that person’s connection to the crime. Moore, however, said Starzynski and the suspect did not know each other.
Brasser returns to court on Dec. 12 to continue felony proceedings after he allegedly attacked a girlfriend and vandalized her car on Valentine’s Day. He was out on bail on that case when Thursday’s shooting occurred.
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 1:15 PM.
