Hit man kills newspaper editor on Oakland street
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UPDATE from SFGATE.COM
Black Muslim bakery raided
7 arrested in connection with slaying of Oakland Post editor
The son of late Black Muslim leader Yusuf Bey was among seven people arrested today during a series of predawn law-enforcement raids in connection with three Oakland homicides, including the daylight shooting death of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey.
Yusuf Bey IV and six other people were taken into custody and several weapons were seized during the multi-agency raids that began at 5 a.m. Police, SWAT teams and bomb units from throughout Alameda County searched Your Black Muslim Bakery at 5832 San Pablo Ave. and three associated locations nearby on 59th and Aileen streets in North Oakland.
Bey hasn't been formally charged with a crime. But police said they had arrested the people responsible for killing Bailey, 57, at 14th and Alice streets on Thursday as well as two other people four days apart in July.
Two other suspects are still being sought in connection with the crimes, which include a May kidnapping and torture case, said Oakland homicide Lt. Ersie Joyner, who declined to discuss a possible motive for the three slayings.
Bailey had been investigating the bakery and its businesses as part of a story for the Oakland Post, said Walter Riley, attorney for the newspaper's publisher, Paul Cobb. Bailey, a former Oakland Tribune reporter, was investigating the group's finances and alleged ties to crime, Riley said.
"He was working on a story, and they had agreed not to publish it because they were not able to get confirmation on some details," Riley said today.
Lorna Brown, an Oakland defense attorney who has represented Bey IV, did not respond to requests for comment today. Attempts to reach bakery offices by phone was unsuccessful.
An Oakland man told The Chronicle today that he saw a shotgun-wielding, masked man approach an AC Transit bus on the east side of Lake Merritt about 10 minutes before Bailey was gunned down Thursday.
The man, who asked not to be identified, a passenger on the No. 40 bus, said he saw a man, shotgun at his side, approach the bus he was riding on at about 7:15 a.m., at a stop at East 14th Street and First Avenue, half a block from Bailey's First Avenue apartment.
The gunman, described by the eyewitness as wearing a black ski mask, black sweater, jeans and dirty sneakers, lifted the weapon to a male passenger's back, unbeknownst to the passenger.
The gunman, described as being in his mid 20s, 5-foot-9-inches tall and 170 pounds, medium-complexion African-American, then backed away, let the bus doors close and took off on foot. The passenger said as the bus drove along East 12th Street alongside Lake Merritt, he saw Bailey walking toward downtown. It wasn't until later when the passenger was at a doctor's appointment and saw the news account of Bailey's slaying that he made a connection.
"I had no idea he was after Chauncey," the passenger told The Chronicle. "There were five or six people on the bus. I thought, 'Son of a bitch. That guy is trying to kill somebody.' When I found out Chauncey was shot I felt so bad."
The passenger said he gave the information to police later Thursday. "It was so brazen," the passenger said. "This guy was out in broad daylight with a double barrel shotgun. He wasn't afraid of anything."
Oakland police believe members of the Your Black Muslim Bakery were involved in "cleansing'' the area surrounding its business of undesirables, possibly including two men shot and killed last month.
Police raided the business and seized weapons, including a shotgun and automatic weapon, authorities believe had been used in the string of attacks. After today's raid, Alameda County health inspectors shut down the bakery today after finding health-code violations, authorities said.
In recent weeks, authorities said, there have been a number of killings in North Oakland near the bakery.
Police said they believed the killings of Michael John Wills Jr., 36, of Oakland, and Odell Roberson Jr., 31, were related, as apparently a similar weapon was used in both of them. The proximity of the two slayings and the circumstances "immediately raised red flags," Joyner said.
Wills was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds early on July 12 in the 6200 block of San Pablo Avenue, near a school playground and near the bakery.
Roberson, also of Oakland, was found shot several times early on July 8 in front of 1077 60th Street, not far from the bakery.
Sources say the two slayings are being investigated as possibly linked to the organization's effort to rid the area of transients.
The bakery and a related security firm have been under police scrutiny in the past. Several members of the group, which is not affiliated with the Nation of Islam, currently are charged with crimes related to the vandalism of two West Oakland liquor stores in 2005.
Bey IV's father, Yusuf Bey, died in October 2003 while awaiting trial on charges of raping a minor. Bey IV has been arrested numerous times in recent years by police.
Your Black Muslim Bakery filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, and the case is still pending in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland.
The bakery building, worth an estimated $1.2 million, is listed as an asset in the bankruptcy petition filed last year. The company borrowed $700,000 and wants to refinance or sell the building to pay off its more than $200,000 in back taxes. The federal government has intervened to make sure that the taxes are paid in full.
After his father died, Bey IV took over management of the bakery and "discovered that income from the bakery had dropped," said the group's filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland.
"I admit that I am young and inexperienced in the business world," Bey IV wrote in the filing. "In the past I received advice and consultation from those who had proven to me they did not have my best interest at heart. This was a major learning process, which has now caused me to grow and mature at a rapid rate."
The bankruptcy case is pending, said Fayedine Coulter, an Oakland attorney representing the group in court.
Coulter said today that she was unaware that Bailey had an interest in the bakery.
"I have never spoken with, nor had any contact with Mr. Bailey," Coulter said. "I am dismayed, as I am sure is everyone in the community at his terrible and unexpected death. No one could have imagined that a journalist would be killed in such a horrible manner in downtown America in broad daylight."
In his filing, Bey also wrote that he met with Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), both of whom promised to support him in maintaining the bakery. Dellums "has even pointed out his official support of me continuing in my father's successful pattern of running the business," Bey wrote. Dellums' office said the mayor had no comment. Lee spokesman Nathan Britton said Friday: "Congresswoman Barbara Lee is on record supporting the bakery as a community institution."
Chronicle staff writers Phillip Matier, Jim Herron Zamora and Kantele Franko contributed to this report.
Black Muslim bakery raided
7 arrested in connection with slaying of Oakland Post editor
The son of late Black Muslim leader Yusuf Bey was among seven people arrested today during a series of predawn law-enforcement raids in connection with three Oakland homicides, including the daylight shooting death of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey.
Yusuf Bey IV and six other people were taken into custody and several weapons were seized during the multi-agency raids that began at 5 a.m. Police, SWAT teams and bomb units from throughout Alameda County searched Your Black Muslim Bakery at 5832 San Pablo Ave. and three associated locations nearby on 59th and Aileen streets in North Oakland.
Bey hasn't been formally charged with a crime. But police said they had arrested the people responsible for killing Bailey, 57, at 14th and Alice streets on Thursday as well as two other people four days apart in July.
Two other suspects are still being sought in connection with the crimes, which include a May kidnapping and torture case, said Oakland homicide Lt. Ersie Joyner, who declined to discuss a possible motive for the three slayings.
Bailey had been investigating the bakery and its businesses as part of a story for the Oakland Post, said Walter Riley, attorney for the newspaper's publisher, Paul Cobb. Bailey, a former Oakland Tribune reporter, was investigating the group's finances and alleged ties to crime, Riley said.
"He was working on a story, and they had agreed not to publish it because they were not able to get confirmation on some details," Riley said today.
Lorna Brown, an Oakland defense attorney who has represented Bey IV, did not respond to requests for comment today. Attempts to reach bakery offices by phone was unsuccessful.
An Oakland man told The Chronicle today that he saw a shotgun-wielding, masked man approach an AC Transit bus on the east side of Lake Merritt about 10 minutes before Bailey was gunned down Thursday.
The man, who asked not to be identified, a passenger on the No. 40 bus, said he saw a man, shotgun at his side, approach the bus he was riding on at about 7:15 a.m., at a stop at East 14th Street and First Avenue, half a block from Bailey's First Avenue apartment.
The gunman, described by the eyewitness as wearing a black ski mask, black sweater, jeans and dirty sneakers, lifted the weapon to a male passenger's back, unbeknownst to the passenger.
The gunman, described as being in his mid 20s, 5-foot-9-inches tall and 170 pounds, medium-complexion African-American, then backed away, let the bus doors close and took off on foot. The passenger said as the bus drove along East 12th Street alongside Lake Merritt, he saw Bailey walking toward downtown. It wasn't until later when the passenger was at a doctor's appointment and saw the news account of Bailey's slaying that he made a connection.
"I had no idea he was after Chauncey," the passenger told The Chronicle. "There were five or six people on the bus. I thought, 'Son of a bitch. That guy is trying to kill somebody.' When I found out Chauncey was shot I felt so bad."
The passenger said he gave the information to police later Thursday. "It was so brazen," the passenger said. "This guy was out in broad daylight with a double barrel shotgun. He wasn't afraid of anything."
Oakland police believe members of the Your Black Muslim Bakery were involved in "cleansing'' the area surrounding its business of undesirables, possibly including two men shot and killed last month.
Police raided the business and seized weapons, including a shotgun and automatic weapon, authorities believe had been used in the string of attacks. After today's raid, Alameda County health inspectors shut down the bakery today after finding health-code violations, authorities said.
In recent weeks, authorities said, there have been a number of killings in North Oakland near the bakery.
Police said they believed the killings of Michael John Wills Jr., 36, of Oakland, and Odell Roberson Jr., 31, were related, as apparently a similar weapon was used in both of them. The proximity of the two slayings and the circumstances "immediately raised red flags," Joyner said.
Wills was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds early on July 12 in the 6200 block of San Pablo Avenue, near a school playground and near the bakery.
Roberson, also of Oakland, was found shot several times early on July 8 in front of 1077 60th Street, not far from the bakery.
Sources say the two slayings are being investigated as possibly linked to the organization's effort to rid the area of transients.
The bakery and a related security firm have been under police scrutiny in the past. Several members of the group, which is not affiliated with the Nation of Islam, currently are charged with crimes related to the vandalism of two West Oakland liquor stores in 2005.
Bey IV's father, Yusuf Bey, died in October 2003 while awaiting trial on charges of raping a minor. Bey IV has been arrested numerous times in recent years by police.
Your Black Muslim Bakery filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, and the case is still pending in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland.
The bakery building, worth an estimated $1.2 million, is listed as an asset in the bankruptcy petition filed last year. The company borrowed $700,000 and wants to refinance or sell the building to pay off its more than $200,000 in back taxes. The federal government has intervened to make sure that the taxes are paid in full.
After his father died, Bey IV took over management of the bakery and "discovered that income from the bakery had dropped," said the group's filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland.
"I admit that I am young and inexperienced in the business world," Bey IV wrote in the filing. "In the past I received advice and consultation from those who had proven to me they did not have my best interest at heart. This was a major learning process, which has now caused me to grow and mature at a rapid rate."
The bankruptcy case is pending, said Fayedine Coulter, an Oakland attorney representing the group in court.
Coulter said today that she was unaware that Bailey had an interest in the bakery.
"I have never spoken with, nor had any contact with Mr. Bailey," Coulter said. "I am dismayed, as I am sure is everyone in the community at his terrible and unexpected death. No one could have imagined that a journalist would be killed in such a horrible manner in downtown America in broad daylight."
In his filing, Bey also wrote that he met with Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), both of whom promised to support him in maintaining the bakery. Dellums "has even pointed out his official support of me continuing in my father's successful pattern of running the business," Bey wrote. Dellums' office said the mayor had no comment. Lee spokesman Nathan Britton said Friday: "Congresswoman Barbara Lee is on record supporting the bakery as a community institution."
Chronicle staff writers Phillip Matier, Jim Herron Zamora and Kantele Franko contributed to this report.
I heard about the Muslim bakery thing too. My questions is how come suddenly the cops find the killers in one day? What about the hundreds of other murders that occur? Turf politics are a lot simpler than rich corporate politics, no offense to anyone.
What Im getting at is, I still suspect the city or some rich people had something to do with it. I don't know much, but people accept the news story too easily, even though it is a local paper.
What Im getting at is, I still suspect the city or some rich people had something to do with it. I don't know much, but people accept the news story too easily, even though it is a local paper.
