Plea deal possible for suspect in Sacramento slaying of ex-CapRadio executive
Attorneys are considering a possible plea deal for one of two people accused in the 2022 shooting death of a former Capital Public Radio executive killed during a robbery in broad daylight outside an East Sacramento tennis club.
DeSean Leon Brasser Jr. and Tajenae Unique Cooper, both 25, appeared for a brief hearing Thursday afternoon in Sacramento Superior Court. Brasser remains in custody and Cooper has been released from jail as they await a trial scheduled to begin May 19.
Brasser faces a charge of murder in the death of Charles Starzynski, a former program director at CapRadio. Starzynski, 70, was shot about 12:30 p.m. Oct. 20, 2022, in an alley near the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club near 39th and N streets.
Cooper was arrested on suspicion of robbery in connection with Starzynski’s shooting death outside the tennis club in East Sacramento’s Fabulous 40s neighborhood. Authorities have identified her as an accomplice in the deadly armed robbery.
At Thursday’s court hearing, Judge Satnam Rattu postponed a trial readiness conference as attorneys discuss a potential plea deal for Cooper. Rattu ordered Brasser and Cooper to return to court next Thursday to determine whether the trial will begin as scheduled for both defendants.
Starzynski helmed Sacramento public radio stations KXPR-FM and KXJZ-FM at Sacramento State for nearly 20 years from 1979 to 1998.
The former CapRadio executive and Brasser did not know each other. Detectives believe Brasser and Cooper followed Starzynski from a local bank to where the shooting occurred, the Sacramento Police Department said at the time of Cooper’s arrest.
One gunshot was fired during that confrontation, and Starzynski was fatally wounded, according to police. The suspect vehicle left the area. Officers arrived within four minutes and found Starzynski, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses at the scene gave police two letters of the license plate of the suspect vehicle. Police officials have said that within 45 minutes, investigators identified the suspect vehicle, its license plate and a potential suspect, later identified as Brasser. Police said detectives within two hours were outside the suspect’s home.
Brasser was arrested later that night after he reportedly fled from police and tried to hide in an apartment complex on Florin Road and Shoal Court in Sacramento’s Pocket neighborhood. Police said at the time that officers caught up to Brasser as he sat in the car believed to have been used in the robbery.
This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 4:21 PM.
