Crime & Safety
Slaying Suspect's Truck Found in Sherman Oaks
Truck reportedly linked to suspect in double killing found in Gelson's parking lot on Van Nuys Boulevard.
A man suspected in the double slaying of a man and a woman whose bodies were found at a home in the 20400 block of Lassen Street Saturday morning narrowly evaded police officers Sunday afternoon, Los Angeles police reported.
Police have named Brent D. Zubek as the lone suspect in the case.
Zubek is “armed and extremely dangerous,” Los Angeles police Capt. Maureen Ryan said. “Do not engage him.”
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Police Capt. Chris Pitcher said that Zubek's black, 2010 Ford F-150 truck was found in the large parking lot in front of Gelson's market on Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. Earlier, police had spotted the truck; however, "Zubeck was able to evade officers through a series of maneuvers,” Pitcher said.
Police described Zubek as a 43-year-old white male with brown hair and blue eyes; he is 5-foot-11 and weighs about 185 pounds.
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Zubek was seen alone at about 12 p.m. Sunday in the 9400 block of Sepulveda Boulevard driving the Ford truck with Arizona license plates, according to police, who reportedly were “surveilling” him.
Pitcher said there was no police chase and the truck was found abandoned about an hour later in the Van Nuys Boulevard parking lot.
Ryan said the two victims' badly decomposed bodies have not yet been identified. The victims may have been killed elsewhere, Ryan added.
Police, however, remained tight-lipped about the details of the killings, including how the victims died and what relationship they may have had with Zubek. Police would not clarify conflicting media reports, which initially said the bodies were found in a truck trailer and then in trash bins. They also declined to explain what led them to the bodies and to name Zubek as a suspect. The officers said that releasing additional details might jeopardize the case.
After a news conference given on the case, Lt. Tim Torsney explained they did not want to release additional information that might lead to “false admissions.”
Anybody with information on Zubek’s whereabouts should contact Devonshire Division homicide detectives at 818-832-0609 or 877-LAPD-24-7.
