Oakland Journalist gunned down

[McCovey Cove Returns]

Veteran journalist Chauncey Bailey, who recently was promoted to
be editor of the Oakland Post, was fatally shot in downtown Oakland just
before 7:30 a.m. today in what appears to be a targeted shooting, according
to an Oakland police spokesman.
"This is disheartening," said Oakland police spokesman Roland
Holmgren, who knew Bailey.
Holmgren said the 58-year-old journalist was shot multiple times
in the 250 block of 14th Street near Alice Street, which is near a large post
office on 13th Street and a McDonald's restaurant at 14th and Jackson
streets.
The area also is near Lake Merritt, the Alameda County
Administration Building and the main county courthouse at 13th and Oak
streets.
The Oakland Post's office is several blocks away at 405 14th St.
Holmgren said witnesses told police that a lone suspect dressed in
black clothing and black headgear approached Bailey, shot him multiple times
and then fled on foot.
Holmgren said he has no initial explanation for the motive of the
shooting and no initial knowledge of any threats that had been made against
Bailey.
Holmgren said he knew Bailey because Bailey covered Oakland City
Hall as well as police matters and described Bailey as "a very assertive
person who spoke his mind and addressed controversial topics."
Bailey worked for The Oakland Tribune for more than 10 years
before leaving the newspaper in 2003, according to Tribune employees.
He later joined the Oakland Post, which is oriented toward serving
the area's black community.
Gwendolyn Carter, the paper's advertising manager, who came to the
shooting scene, said Bailey was just promoted to be editor in the last month
or two.
Carter said, "Chauncey was a great man and he called me his little
sister."
Derrick Nesbitt praised Bailey for helping him get into the news
business when Bailey hosted a television program called "Soul Beat."
Nesbitt said, "Chauncey was very controversial and could bring
anger out in people."

[Diplomat]

I saw this story earlier. It is so sad.

[Jane Craig]

A sad reminder that journalism can be a dangerous profession. May Mr. Bailey rest in peace, and may they find whoever did this and bring them to justice.

[McCovey Cove Returns]

Cops: Editor's killer confesses
Officers say bakery handyman, 19, angered by Bailey's reporting
By Harry Harris, Kristin Bender and Kelly Rayburn, STAFF WRITERS
Inside Bay Area
Article Last Updated:08/04/2007 10:05:22 AM PDT
OAKLAND — A 19-year-old handyman at Your Black Muslim Bakery admitted to police Friday night that he ambushed and killed Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, investigators said.

Police said Devaughndre Broussard told them he killed Bailey because he was angry over stories the journalist had written about the bakery, its employees and leaders in the past. Investigators said Broussard was also concerned about stories that he thought Bailey might be working on. Bailey had apparently been working on a story about the group and its finances, authorities said.

Broussard made the admission to Sgts. Derwin Longmire and Lou Cruz.Broussard had been arrested at his home Friday morning in the 1000 block of 59th Street, where police recovered the shotgun that they believe was used to kill Bailey the day before.

Apparently Broussard had found out where Bailey lived and before the killing Friday morning had gone to the newspaper offices to see if he was there. When he found that Bailey had not arrived at work yet, he began driving around in a van looking for him and spotted him in the 200 block of 14th Street, where he confronted him on the street and shot him several times with the shotgun.

Spent shotgun shells found at the scene were matched to the shotgun recovered at Broussard's residence, police said. Broussard had worked at the bakery as a handyman and occasional cook for eight months before leaving in March to find other employment. But when he could not find a job here turned to the bakery about a month ago and was given a post again, police said.

Broussard is currently on probation for a robbery conviction out of San Francisco. He is scheduled booked on suspicion of murder today. Six other people who were arrested in a raid at the bakery Friday morning were still being interviewed lateFriday night, but no one else was expected to be booked on murder charges.

Those arrested included Yusuf Bey IV, the son of the Black Muslim Bakery founders.

Those in custody Friday were arrested for past assaults, gun attacks and a kidnapping. Two others are still being sought by police. Lorna Brown, an Oakland attorney who has represented the Beys in the past, did not return calls for comment.

Bailey, 57, a former Oakland Tribune reporter, was walking to theOakland Post when he was gunned down at 14th and Alice streets about 7:25 a.m.

Walter Riley, an attorney for the Oakland Post, said Bailey had been working on a story about "the financial status of the organization" and the "activities of a number of people who were working in the organization," including possible criminal activity.

Riley said the newspaper was unable to verify key details of the story and decided not to run it, possibly abandoning the article altogether.

Bailey was known for not shirking from any source, said Donna Ayo, a founder of the community group BARONS, or Brave Academic Rise of N'powered Students. Bridges, who knew Bailey for 14 years, said that included the Black Muslims.

"He was forthright and gave (the group) their due when they were doing positive things," she said. "When they started doing negative things, things that harmed the community, he had to notify the community. ... He made a decision."

Ayo knew Bailey's reporting had angered people affiliated with the Black Muslim Bakery.

"But they're not above the board," she said. "They (the Black Muslim Bakery associates) don't get a pass."

Late Black Muslim patriarch Yusuf Bey founded the bakery four decades ago. He built the organization on ideals of black empowerment, respect and self-reliance. In recent years, the group has been tied to murders, racism, sexual assaults on young girls and vandalism.

The bakery and its affiliated businesses occupy several storefronts along both sides of San Pablo Avenue near the Emeryville and Berkeley borders.

The Nation of Islam, a national organization for black Muslims, is not affiliated with the bakery, said Oakland Assistant Police Chief Howard Jordan.

For two months, police were looking into the bakery at 5832 San Pablo Ave. and its connection to separate incidents of violence, including a number of killings, shootings, robberies and a kidnapping.

Members of the Bey family appeared to be distancing themselves from Yusuf Bey IV early Friday evening .

As of the past three-and-a-half to four years, the majority of the family was not involved in the bakery, said Shamir Yusuf Bey, son of the senior Bey, who died in 2003.

Speaking in front of the bakery's shattered storefront window, Shamir Bey said his father ran the business legally for 34 years and that the situation does not reflect his father's legacy of helping the downtrodden to become leaders.

"We appreciate all the support for our father over the years," Shamir Bey said, adding that he and his "brothers" standing beside him in sharply tailored suits with stern expressions on their faces had no felonies or misdemeanors.

Shamir Bey, dressed in a black suit and white bow tie, refused to take questions but said a news conference will be held Monday.

During Friday's predawn raid of the North Oakland bakery, more than 200 heavily armed police officers seized weapons from inside, spent ammunition from the rooftop and detained 19 people for questioning.

Police broke down doors and used stun grenades to disorient people to gain entry. No one was hurt in the raids, which began at 5 a.m.

Police also raided homes in the 1080 block of 59th Street and 900 block of Aileen Street, in Oakland, but it was not clear what they found there.

During the bakery raid, authorities also uncovered conditions so unsanitary that the Alameda County Health Department has closed down the eatery.

Police found filth and waste — including dead rats on the roof and rat droppings in the bakery — they believe were leaking into drainage lines, prompting them to call in Vector Control, the city's code compliance unit, the state Department of Fish and Game and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office environmental crimes unit, said Lt. Paul Berlin. Fines for such violations can be up to $5,000 a day.

Police said they had probable cause arrest warrants for several men with ties to the organization but were still trying to determine if they were among those detained. Police said some of those detained had arrest warrants from other police agencies and parolee violations.

Police would not give specific details about the cases they believe are linked to the people associated with the bakery, but did say some were committed last year and earlier this year.

Two of the incidents are believed to be the predawn shooting deaths of two men last month within a few blocks of the bakery. One was the July 12 shooting of Michael J. Wills Jr., 36, who had addresses in both Oakland and Fremont. He was gunned down in the 6200 block of San Pablo Avenue.

Four days earlier, Odell Roberson Jr., 31, was shot to death in the 1000 block of 60th Street. Police suspected the homicides were connected because of the circumstances and similarities of weapons used.

At least one case possibly linked to the bakery involves the kidnapping several weeks ago of some women for whom a ransom was demanded before they were able to escape, sources said. One of the shootings possibly resulted from a love triangle, sources said.

Jordan said the warrants were obtained so that police could seek evidence needed "to further our investigations into these different crimes."

"(The men named in the warrants) are very violent individuals who need to be in custody," he said.

Officers from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, and police departments in Fremont, Hayward, Livermore and Alameda assisted with the raids.

Bailey's death Thursday stunned the Bay Area, where he had been a prominent journalist for decades.

Bailey wrote about Your Black Muslim Bakery and founder Yusuf Bey for the Tribune when Bey faced prosecution for a number of charges stemming from an original allegation that he fathered the child of a 13-year-old girl.

Bailey's articles mixed coverage of the allegations with lavish praise for Bey from his supporters.

Bailey also served as the news director at the East Bay's black-oriented KSBT SoulBeat Television.

And some say Bailey had a tumultuous relationship with associates of the Black Muslim Bakery group.

A longtime friend who did not want to be named said the journalist got threats "all the time" from Your Black Muslim Bakery and its supporters when Bailey hosted a segment on the Soul Beat television show.

Many of the threats came during call-in time on Bailey's show, and many were taped on the program.

Bey later came on Bailey's Soul Beat segment, the friend said, and the pair seemed to have a better relationship after that.

Bailey wasn't the only journalist to run afoul of the group. Stephen Buel, editor of the East Bay Express, said someone flung a brick through the window of the newspaper's office in late 2002 following a series chronicling the dark side of the group. A reporter at the newspaper received threats after the paper printed a story about the death of Bey in 2003.

Bailey, released by the Tribune in 2005 for conflict-of-interest issues, began covering the group again shortly after taking over as editor of the Oakland Post this summer.

A memorial for Bailey, with flowers, notes and mementos was erected at the spot where he was gunned down. Community members and those who knew Bailey said he will be missed. Funeral arrangements are pending.

[Clever Login Name]

So, because they were angry at being portrayed as violent criminals, they decided to hunt him down in cold blood. Got it.

[Clever Login Name]

An udpate ... apparently, some Bay Area Dems were helping to prop up our Little Shop of Muslim Horrors:

Swanson also tried to help bakery avoid bankruptcy
Assemblyman one of number of officials who attempted to save business despite its failings, criminal record
By Cecily Burt, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 08/16/2007 07:52:06 AM PDT

OAKLAND — Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee are not the only prominent East Bay politicians who, despite its tainted reputation, pledged support for Your Black Muslim Bakery by asking a bankruptcy judge not to dissolve the business to pay off creditors.
Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, joined Dellums and Lee — both his former bosses — and wrote a letter to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Edward D. Jellen last month on behalf of the bakery when asked by a former associate of the late founder Yusuf Bey.

But Oakland City Councilmember Larry Reid (Elmhurst-East Oakland) said he refused a similar request because bakery associates failed to repay a $1.1 million loan from the city of Oakland to establish a health care training program, and because of well-publicized criminal charges brought against many of the bakery's leaders the past few years, long before a bakery handyman confessed to killing Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey on Aug. 2.

Your Black Muslim Bakery, heavily mortgaged, deep in debt to the IRS and other creditors, and beset by internal battles for rightful ownership after the death of founder Yusuf Bey, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October. The company faced liquidation after failing to file the proper paperwork and make payments to the U.S. trustee's office.

Ali Saleem Bey, a longtime bakery associate who is not a blood relative of Yusuf Bey, said he made the rounds of elected officials to enlist their help to reverse a liquidation order. Despite the support from Lee, Dellums and Swanson, on Aug. 9 Judge Jellen refused to halt the liquidation.

In the wake of Bailey's slaying, Lee expressed regret for having supported the bakery; support she said she gave because of the organization's historic contributions to the black community.

And Karen Stevenson, the mayor's communications director, explained that Dellums responded to a direct request from Ali Saleem Bey because he said he hoped to gain control of the bakery and return to its historical mission of helping the community by providing jobs, guidance and healthy foods.

"We gave (the letter) to somebody who was trying to do right by the bakery and the community," Stevenson said.

Swanson's brief letter to Jellen was dated July 17. It stated in part that "Your Black Muslim Bakery has been a mainstay in our community since its inception 45 years ago. The loss of this bakery would be devastating to the entire community at large, because it provides not only delicious food items, but vital job opportunities for our local residents."

Although Swanson could not be reached directly, his communications director Amber Maltbie said her boss was not aware of the bakery leaders' problems with the law, and she said the office needs to do a better job vetting such requests in the future.

"The letter was written based on the history of the bakery," she said. "They've been in the community a long time, and they have done a lot for the community, although it's clear that is no longer the case.

"We made a mistake, we need to be more diligent," she added.

But a statement from Swanson issued a short time later via Swanson's chief of staff Larry Broussard was not at all apologetic. The letter was a routine response to a routine request from a small business, nothing more, nothing less, he said.

"My office routinely receives request for support and assistance from small businesses and organizations in the district to insure fair treatment in bankruptcy proceedings," the statement from Swanson read. "In our response to the Your Black Muslim Bakery's standard small business request, we prepared our standard request for fairness to the Bankruptcy Court, while at the same time respecting the judicial separation of powers and responsibilities."

Broussard said it should serve as Swanson's official statement on the matter, and Maltbie's earlier response did not represent the official position of the assemblyman or his office.

Reid said he respects John Bey, a former executive with the organization's security company, and Ali Saleem Bey, both members of the organization's old guard who are not associated with the troubled leadership, but that was not enough.

"They asked ... but I wouldn't have done it because of the latest incidents that have occurred with Your Black Muslim Bakery," Reid said, referring to the November 2005 assaults on two liquor stores and the organization's failure to repay more than $1.1 million in debt to the city of Oakland. "As much as I respect John (Bey), I wasn't going to sign a letter."

[foxravens]

Was Produce Man in Oakland that week?

[Produce man]

No, but I'll be in Cabo this weekend. graemlins/icon_kidra.gif

[foxravens]

Stay there....

[Clubbeat]

So if you report stories that alleged criminal activity of an apparent racist organization, you stand the chance of being gunned down?

I am sad and angry by this story because an innocent life was taken by some thugs and becuase it's another case of black-on-black crime.

What a world we live in. :(