A 24-year-old man accused of killing his brother with a pickaxe was charged Monday with murder and injury to a child, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
The man, identified as Zuberi Sharpe of Newbury Park, was arrested naked in the middle of the Newbury Park High School football field on the night of Dec. 5, according to the county sheriff’s office.
Hours before the arrest, an ambulance was called to a home in the 400 block of Jeanne Court after the teen was hit in the head with an unknown object around 8 p.m., officials said.
The 15-year-old boy, whose name is being withheld by authorities, was on his way to a hospital when he was pronounced dead.
Neighbors told KTLA that the boy was Sharpe’s younger brother, who was disabled and used a wheelchair. Authorities did not immediately confirm this information.
Neighbors also said Mr Sharp had mental health issues and had “lost touch with reality”. Neighbors said Sharpe was found in a storm drain hours before he allegedly killed his brother and had to be rescued by firefighters.
Sharp is the son of convicted murderer Calvin Sharp, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Calvin killed 6-year-old Seven Molina with a butcher knife in 2007. He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Sharp made his first court appearance on Monday, Dec. 9, but did not give a statement, according to the DA’s office.
In addition to the charges, Sharp also faces several special charges and aggravating factors, “including the use of a deadly weapon and the vulnerability of the victim,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Sharp is scheduled to reappear in court for a competency hearing in Ventura County Superior Court on January 2, 2025.
Until then, the 24-year-old will remain in custody without the possibility of bail.
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