Man Arrested in Encino Charged With Murder in Chatsworth Shootings

A man in Chatsworth, then opening fire on police when they closed in on him in Encino, was charged Wednesday with two counts of capital murder.

Brent Darrin Zubek, 43, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stem from the shooting deaths of John David Lee, 40, and Oletta Jean Williams, 28, whose decomposing bodies were found Aug. 12 in the 204400 block of Lassen Street, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The charges include a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, which could make Zubek eligible for the death penalty. Zubek was previously charged Aug. 24 with six counts of assault with a firearm on a peace officer and one count each of being a felon with a gun and carrying a loaded, stolen firearm. Zubek was being sought in connection with the slayings when he was spotted on Aug. 21 by detectives near Noeline Avenue and Ventura Boulevard.

Zubek allegedly turned and fired at police after detectives began chasing him on foot. Police surrounded the area and conducted a search, during which people were told to stay in their homes. Some officers went to a party at a nearby house to make sure Zubek was not among the partygoers or hiding around their vehicles.

Zubek allegedly pulled a pistol on an officer when he was found on a roof in the 4600 block of Libbit Street in Encino in the early hours of Aug. 22. An LAPD officer eventually shot Zubek in the hip. Zubek, convicted in 1993 on federal bank robbery charges, was taken to a hospital to be treated, then booked.

Police believe the killings occurred five or six weeks earlier. In the first week of August, police got word of a homicide in Chatsworth and found the bodies in a trash bin outside a home where Zubek and the two victims had once lived, authorities said.

—City News Service