Keepingitreal

Devaughndre Broussard: I want the families to know I am sorry

OAKLAND -- The man who gunned down journalist Chauncey Bailey and a second man in 2007 knows forgiveness is too much to ask, but he wants his victims' families to know he is sorry for the pain he caused. "I don't expect them to forgive me," Devaughndre Broussard said Thursday. "But I hope they hear me. "It was morally wrong," Broussard, 23, said in the interview at North County Jail in Oakland, where he has been held in isolation for nearly four years after his arrest for shooting Bailey, editor of the Oakland Post, on Aug. 2, 2007, and Odell Roberson, a 31-year-old homeless man, on July 8, 2007. When he killed his victims, Broussard said, he didn't think of them as people and "didn't contemplate the pain and grief" their deaths would create for survivors. Broussard confessed to killing both men, and said it was on the order of his then-religious mentor, Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV. Based largely on Broussard's testimony, Bey IV and another bakery member, Antoine Mackey, were convicted June 9 of multiple first-degree murder charges. Speaking through a glass partition in a small visiting room, Broussard said he was not surprised that a jury convicted Bey IV of ordering the deaths of Bailey, Roberson and the July 12, 2007, death of Michael Wills. Mackey was convicted of killing Wills, 36. "I took it in stride," Broussard said. "I heard it on the news." Broussard is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 12 to 25 years in state prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to two counts of voluntary manslaughter. The terms were part of his plea bargain to testify against Bey IV and Mackey, who each face life sentences without parole. Broussard said he will likely express his remorse publicly when he is sentenced. His attorney, LeRue Grim said Thursday, "he will make a statement." Broussard was dressed in a red jail jumpsuit, his hands and feet shackled to a waist chain. A small pencil was tucked above his right ear. He seemed far more relaxed and spoke far more easily than he did during his six days of trial testimony, when he often stuttered and paused. Deputy District Attorney Melissa Krum described him to jurors as a sociopath and a demon, saying authorities cut a deal with him only to get Bey IV -- who she called 'the devil" -- as the one who ordered the killings. Thursday, Broussard said he believes he was largely brainwashed. He said Bey IV taught a false a version of Islam at the bakery, one that dates to the early 1930s. The belief claims whites and Jews are devils created by an evil scientist named Yakub through grafting experiments, and that a giant mother plane orbits the earth always preparing to launch scores of bombers that will destroy the planet in apocalyptic hellfire. "I took what (Bey IV) said to be Islam. It wasn't," Broussard said. "Now I have time to read the Holy Quran beginning to end and come up with my own conclusions." He insisted that his "mind state" at the time of the killings was influenced by Bey IV, who promised to provide him with a false identity with a high credit score in exchange for committing the murders. But Broussard said he does not regret his decision to join the bakery in 2006 following a nearly yearlong jail term in San Francisco on assault charges. He quit the bakery in early 2007 only to return when he couldn't find other employment because he lacked a high school diploma and had a felony record. "To say I regretted going back would be pointless," he said. "It happened. I have to learn from my mistakes. "We made the wrong conclusions," he added, speaking of himself and his childhood friend, Richard Lewis, who also joined the bakery. Lewis is now serving a life term in Pelican Bay State Prison after being convicted in a May 2007 kidnapping and torture case involving two women. Bey IV, who is accused of planning the attack, still awaits trial in that case. If there had been better programs in place when he got out of jail to help him acquire job skills, Broussard said he probably wouldn't have agreed to became a "soldier" in Bey IV's organization. "When you don't have options you do desperate acts." Broussard said he had no regrets about becoming a prosecution witness after Bey IV failed to provide him with a lawyer or other help after pressuring him to tell police investigators he acted alone when he killed Bailey. "I would have been giving the rest of my life (to a prison term) for those who would not give their lives for me," Broussard said. "There is a price for loyalty they wasn't willing to pay. The friendship I had for them they didn't have for me." Broussard said he also wanted people to know he didn't think Roberson's killing was funny -- even though he burst into laughter while describing it during trial testimony. Instead, he said, he was laughing at what he took as the absurdity of the question. Krum, he said, had asked him what happened after he shot Roberson multiple times at close range with an AK-47 assault rifle. "I wasn't laughing in the sense the murder was funny," he said. "He fell. What do you think he did?" Broussard also laughed notably a second time on the stand, as he was describing a yellow Cadillac driven to the scene of a December 2007 shooting, where a car belonging to a man with whom Bey IV had a disagreement was riddled with bullets. "I visualized the car and thought it was funny," he said. The car, he added, was too conspicuous to use to commit a crime, like a "beacon in the night."

Former Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV guilty for murdering Chauncey Bailey

OAKLAND -- A jury has just convicted former Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV for the 2007 murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey.

Bey IV, 25, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole when he is sentenced July 8.

Bailey, 57, was the first journalist killed over a domestic story in the United States since 1976, when Don Bolles of the Arizona Republic died in a car bombing

The jury of seven men and five women began deliberations in the Bailey case May 23 after nine weeks of testimony from more than 50 witnesses.

Bailey, editor of the Oakland Post, was gunned down Aug. 2, 2007, on his way to work in downtown Oakland. The man who confessed to killing Bailey, bakery member Devaughndre Broussard, told officials that Bey IV ordered the death to stop the journalist from publishing an article about the bakery's financial troubles. Broussard accepted a plea deal in exchange for his testimony and is expected to be sentenced to 25 years in prison.

After Bailey's death, a coalition of local media, including the Bay Area News Group, joined in the Chauncey Bailey Project, an investigative group that looked into the case and the Oakland Police Department's handling of it.

"From the very first meeting that led to the creation of the Chauncey Bailey Project, there were two goals," said Robert Rosenthal, executive editor of the Chauncey Bailey Project and head of the Berkeley-based Center for Investigative

Reporting. "One was to continue Chauncey's work and to make sure that when a journalist is murdered because of their work justice is served. There is no doubt that the work of the project helped keep law enforcement focused on this case, and revealed facts and evidence that may have never been disclosed. Today's verdict is a reminder that journalists do make a difference and that their work is crucial to our democracy."

After a decade-long stint at the Detroit News, Bailey joined the Oakland Tribune in 1993 and was fired from the paper in 2005 for ethical violations. He had been appointed editor of the Oakland Post, a free circulation weekly paper covering the city's African-American community only weeks before his death.

He had written but not published a story about the bakery's 2006 bankruptcy filing that a judge had recently converted from reorganization to liquidation. Post publisher Paul Cobb had rejected the story, claiming it didn't contain enough attribution.

At the time, police suspected bakery members were involved in two other killings as well as the kidnapping of two women and the torture of one of them. Police had planned to raid the bakery compound the day before Bailey's murder, but delayed to accommodate the vacation scheduled of two senior SWAT commanders.

When they carried out the operation the day after Bailey's death, Broussard threw the shotgun out his bedroom window and was arrested. He repeatedly told police he didn't kill Bailey, but Bey IV, in separate interviews with detectives, claimed Broussard had told him he committed the murder.

Detectives eventually brought Bey IV into their interview with Broussard and after he continued to claim he killed no one, left them alone together for about six minutes with recording the conversations.

Immediately after that conversation, Broussard told Sgt. Derwin Longmire, "I shot him. ... He fell. I shot him again."

Broussard told jurors during his trial testimony that during the time alone Bey IV convinced him to give a flawed confession. "He said I was being tested by God," Broussard said that he was also promised a Bey-family lawyer, money and a light jail sentence in exchange for protecting Bey IV from charges he ordered the killing.

Police said within days that they didn't believe Broussard acted alone, but did not investigate other suspects vigorously. Bey IV and Mackey were not charged in Bailey's killing until April 2009, after Broussard agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

When he finally testified against his former friends, Broussard, 23, laughed as he described how he shot Roberson and acted in what defense lawyers described as a bizarre manner, sometimes taking a minute or more to answer a question.

During breaks in his testimony he often rocked back and forth in the witness chair and appeared to be muttering to himself with his eyes closed. Deputy District Attorney Melissa Krum said Broussard was far from the perfect witness, telling jurors he was a sociopath, but, in effect, was chosen by Bey IV, not her.

"Sometimes you have to make a deal with a demon to get the devil," she said in her closing argument, pointing at Bey IV as she said the last word. SOURCE:OAKLAND TRIBUNE

Union City mother one of two people killed in East Oakland shooting

OAKLAND - A Union City mother of two and a man were killed and another woman critically wounded Sunday night when a shooting erupted during an East Oakland "sideshow," police said Monday. The dead woman was identified as Latoya J. Kenny, 28. The name of the dead man, a San Leandro resident who turned 29 on Saturday was not released pending notification of relatives. The name of the wounded woman, a 28-year-old San Leandro resident, was not released by police. Homicide investigators said the three people did not know each other. The shooting happened about 9:21 p.m. Sunday in the 8700 block of International Boulevard. Sgt. Sean Fleming said Monday police believe the three shot had been part of a large group that attended a barbecue at a park a few miles away earlier Sunday and had come to the International Boulevard site for a possible after-party. Kenny was with several relatives and friends, police said. Police said several hundred people were in the area when a sideshow involving vehicles and motorcycles began. Sideshows have been notorious in Oakland for decades for reckless driving, speeding, fatal wrecks and acts of violence including killings. But there have been very few sideshows in the last year. Fleming said shots erupted during the sideshow and the three, who were standing near each other on the north side of the street, were hit by gunfire. Kenny and the man were pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was in critical condition Monday at a hospital but was expected to survive, police said.Fleming said despite the large number of people present the majority fled before police arrived and could not be questioned about the shooting. He said police don't have a motive yet and no arrests have been made.Police said Kenny was the mother of two daughters, 10 and 8. She was a graduate of James Logan High School in Union City and Chabot College and was working at the Valley Health Rehabilitation Center in Santa Clara, police said. The killings brought the number of homicides in Oakland this year to 47. Last year at this time there were 35 homicides in the city.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $25,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Anyone with information can call police at 510 238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 510 777-8572 or 510 777-3211.

Two dead, four wounded at Oakland restaurant

OAKLAND -- The scene of a deadly rampage early Monday morning in a bar near Jack London Square was quiet by late afternoon, hours after a man armed with an assault rifle, perhaps hoping to rob people attending a Lil Wayne concert after-party at a club around the corner, opened fire inside the business, instantly killing two people and wounding four others.

A padlock on the entrance and faded evidence markings on the sidewalk outside the newly opened Sweet Jimmie's bar and restaurant on Broadway near Third Street were among the few signs of the violence. The incident erupted about 12:45 a.m. Monday as about a dozen family members and friends of the bar's owner were inside playing video games, said David Ward, the operator of Sweet Jimmie's.

Ward said that a group of men first tried to rob two men walking on Broadway before signaling to another robber in a nearby car. That man had an assault rifle and began firing. The two men who were being robbed ran inside Sweet Jimmie's, followed by the gunman.

Six people were shot, two fatally, and another was wounded by shrapnel. One of the dead was a 22-year old man who had been walking past the bar. The other was 27-year-old Billy Jenkins, an Oakland resident who had been inside playing games when the gunman entered and started firing, Ward said. The first victim's name was not released pending notification of relatives. Another 27-year-old man was in grave condition Monday evening. The other

victims range in age from 27 to 45 and are from other Bay Area cities. They are expected to recover.

Ward was subdued Monday as he spoke about the shooting. He said the establishment will stay closed until he's sure his family is OK.

Sweet Jimmie's is located in usually a safe area, where Sunday nights are typically slow, Ward said. The establishment's doors were open, Ward said, when he heard the shots and started walking toward the door -- that's when the gunman came in firing. Someone pushed him out of the way and he landed on the floor with four others trying to escape the bullets.

"I'm just glad it wasn't me," he said. "If that person hadn't pushed me out of the way, I'd be dead. There's probably an angel looking after me."

Oakland police Sgt. Tony Jones said the gunman "appeared to be firing indiscriminately," and police are trying to determine why.

Lil Wayne played a concert at the Oracle Arena earlier that evening. His record label held an after-party at Kimball's Carnival nightclub, around the corner from Sweet Jimmie's. Oakland police assigned extra security there because of the party and were the first to respond to the shooting at Sweet Jimmie's.

The gunman escaped in a car with at least three other men before police arrived. They drove southbound on Broadway in a newer-model white Dodge Avenger with stock rims.

Broadway between Third and Fourth streets was shut down for several hours to allow police and crime scene technicians to investigate.

While police were investigating the attack, a man who had just left Kimball's was shot in the leg. That shooting happened just after 2 a.m. in the 200 block of Clay Street. Police don't know the motive for that shooting and don't believe it was linked to the Broadway incident.

The two killings brought to 37 the number of homicide victims in the city this year. Last year at this time there had been 30 homicides.

Ward said he took over the bar and restaurant on Broadway about two months ago, but the new awning with the Sweet Jimmie's sign went up just last week. He said he rents the space but plans to buy it soon.

His father, Jimmie Ward, owned the popular Sweet Jimmie's nightclub and restaurant on San Pablo Avenue for many years. It closed in 2006, and the elder Ward died last year.

ABC has no record of any enforcement actions against the new business or of the name being changed in February.

An employee at a Nation's Giant Hamburgers next to Sweet Jimmie's said that with the exception of some panhandlers there has been "no violence like this" on the block.

Nation's usually closes at 1:15 a.m. but it closed immediately after the shooting, and police made employees wait inside for several hours before leaving.

There has been violence in and around Jack London Square in recent years.

In September, four men were wounded in a drive-by shooting outside the Home of Chicken N Waffles in the 400 block of Embarcadero West. They were among a group of people waiting to get into the restaurant about 2:40 a.m. None of the men was badly wounded, and no suspects have been arrested.

In November 2006, Mingles Nightclub in the 200 block of Embarcadero West closed after a pregnant woman was fatally shot outside the establishment. There had been several violent incidents near the club before that, including another killing in April 2006, and it was in danger of having its license suspended by the city. The site since has been demolished. SOURCE OAKLAND TRIBUNE

Oakland Police Department shrinking fast

Sound the alarm - Oakland's Police Department is shrinking so fast that it doesn't have enough officers to cover some patrols and many of its investigative units have been stripped to the bone.

Everyone knows about the 80 officers the city laid off in July to save money. But since then, 21 more have retired, 12 have decamped for other police departments, five have simply quit and one has been fired - dropping the total number of officers to 670.

Meanwhile, 30 more officers are undergoing background checks by other departments seeking to hire them. And another 40 will be eligible to retire by year's end.

Even that doesn't tell the whole story.

Another 77 cops - or more than 10 percent of the entire force - are on the shelf because of injuries. That's about double the usual rate. Twenty will be going back to work in the next two weeks, but only for "light duty."

And thanks to a provision in a parcel tax that city voters passed in 2004, 63 cops have to be assigned as community problem-solving officers who ferret out trouble spots and crime trends in designated districts. That means they can't be assigned to investigations or to work in other neighborhoods.

Put it all together, and you have investigative units such as the burglary and robbery details being raided to fill patrol beats.

There are now just five cops investigating everything from auto thefts to burglaries to identity theft.

But even so, street coverage is becoming a challenge. On an average day, six of the city's 33 patrol car beats go uncovered for lack of officers.

Chief Anthony Batts - who estimated the city needs at least 925 cops to get the job done - is trying to make up for the loss by partnering up with federal, state and county law enforcement units.

"We're going to keep trying," he said. "We are not going to give up."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/05/BA941GLMPQ.DTL#ixzz17M3szj5y

Editorial: We must learn from Oscar Grant's death

THIS WAS never going to be an easy decision.

It required jurors to reach into the mind of former BART Officer Johannes Mehserle the morning of Jan. 1, 2009, when he fired that fatal shot into the back of Oscar Grant III. It required them to try to figure out what Mehserle was thinking with all the chaos around him on the platform of the Fruitvale station. It required them to second-guess whether the transit-system cop intended to reach for his gun or his Taser.

Apparently the jurors didn't believe that Mehserle acted without regard for Grant's life — a requirement for second-degree murder. Nor did they believe that he was provoked and acted in the heat of passion — voluntary manslaughter. Instead, they found that he acted negligently, but without malice. They found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

It was a quick verdict. The case was given to the jury on Friday. Monday was a holiday. A juror was sick Tuesday. And then on Wednesday, one juror was replaced because of a previously scheduled vacation, forcing the jury to restart deliberations with a new member. Talks that day were cut short because of another juror's medical appointment. So Thursday was the first time jurors had the opportunity to deliberate for a full day. But by midafternoon, they had reached a verdict.

It's a verdict that will be second-guessed for years to come. It's a verdict that will haunt the Bay Area. We all saw the video of the shooting, over and over again. And most of us had an opinion. No matter what the jurors concluded, the verdict was sure to meet with disapproval from some of us. No matter the outcome, some would be disappointed.

But there's an important point to remember here: Reasonable minds could have looked at the evidence from the three-week trial and come to different conclusions. This was never a clear-cut case.

And so it's incumbent on all of us to respect the legal process and respect the jurors' verdict. Their decision might not be perfect in the minds of many, but it was a rational outcome. And a reasoned process.

Judge Robert Perry didn't allow the courtroom to become a circus. He kept a lid on the proceedings.

It's now up to us to keep a lid on it. As we move forward, we should feel free to express our opinions about the verdict — but we must do so peacefully. Destroying property and injuring others will not bring back Oscar Grant.

But Grant's death must not be forgotten. We all must learn from this.

Police agencies must review their procedures to make sure that such a tragedy never happens again. And all of us must keep in mind that horrible things can happen when chaos breaks out. Police can make mistakes. After the fact, we can try to determine whether an action was premeditated, without regard for life, in the heat of passion or merely negligent. But, after the fact, it's too late. It's better to de-escalate before violence breaks out.

That was a message that would have helped on Jan. 1, 2009. That's a message for all of us in the days, weeks, months and years ahead as we reflect upon, and react to, the verdict. As a tribute to Grant, let's not forget it.

Oakland cop cleared of Bailey case misconduct

The Oakland police sergeant who led the investigation into the 2007 slaying of a newspaper editor has been cleared of internal charges that he compromised the probe to keep the leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery from being implicated, The Chronicle has learned.Sgt. Derwin Longmire was told last week that acting Police Chief Howard Jordan had ordered that he be returned to duty. Longmire has been on paid leave for six months while the Police Department considered whether he should be fired for misconduct in investigating the killing of Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey. Jordan and other police officials concluded that Longmire should serve a five-day suspension for minor problems with other homicide cases, but that the 23-year department veteran had done nothing wrong in the Bailey probe, sources close to the investigation said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been made public. Longmire's attorney, Michael Rains, said details such as what Longmire will do when he goes back to work were still being worked out. He had been reassigned from the homicide unit to the patrol detail before being put on leave.

"I think we have a tentative agreement, but nothing has been signed off," Rains said late Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/21/MNA018SIVK.DTL#ixzz0UaKoJgL0

Oakland crash victim was a film editor

(05-18) 19:26 PDT Oakland -- Todd Anthony Perea had just left his film-editing job and was looking forward to spending Saturday night relaxing at his Brentwood home. At 6:41 p.m., he was driving his Mazda south on Martin Luther King Jr. Way at Aileen Street in North Oakland just as a 41-year-old Berkeley man was crossing the street at the corner.Perea and the pedestrian had no idea that six minutes earlier and less than three miles away in west Berkeley, a man had been shot numerous times and killed with at least one assault weapon. Now, a Cadillac carrying four suspects was barreling toward them, with Berkeley police in pursuit.The Cadillac, driven by 22-year-old Stephon Anthony, ran a stop sign at the corner of Aileen and Martin Luther King and smashed into the Mazda, killing 27-year-old Perea, police said. The Mazda then spun into the pedestrian's path before coming to rest against a building. The pedestrian, whose name wasn't released, died at a hospital.In an instant, the busy street corner was transformed into a horrifying tableau of mangled car parts, wailing sirens and shattered lives.An avid sports fan and UC Santa Cruz graduate, Perea worked as a contract employee for a production company that was filming scenes at the North Oakland Senior Center just a block from where the crash occurred."Todd Perea was the type of person who always had a kind word for everyone," his cousin, Jennifer Aden said Monday. "He had an infectious smile and was known to be quite a good-natured prankster. He was not only the most positive person around, but also level-headed and mature for someone so young."Anthony, who works an electrician, and one of his three passengers, 26-year-old salesman Anthony Price of Oakland were each arrested on three counts of murder and could be formally charged Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland.Two other men who ran from the Cadillac were still being sought, Officer Andrew Frankel, Berkeley police spokesman said Monday.The suspects are believed to have used one or more assault weapons to fatally shoot 25-year-old Charles Davis at 10th Street and Allston Way in west Berkeley in what police said may have been a retaliatory strike by a rival North Oakland faction.But Davis' grandmother, Corinne Carroll, 84, said he had been attending Central State University in Ohio and may have been a victim of mistaken identity. "I know of no reason, because he's never been in trouble," she said. " I mean, I haven't heard him curse anybody."A preliminary review showed that police followed proper protocol in deciding to chase the Cadillac, as it contained suspects wanted for a violent felony, Frankel said. "We have a very strict pursuit policy," he said. "This pursuit was very much within policy." CONTINUE READING..

Suspects in Berkeley slaying crash, killing 2

Excerpt from SFGATE.COM ~ A car carrying four suspects in a Berkeley homicide slammed into a vehicle in North Oakland while fleeing from police Saturday evening, killing two people - one a motorist, the other a pedestrian - in a horrific chain-reaction crash, police said.The crash happened at 6:41 p.m. at the corner of Aileen Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland, six minutes after police received reports of a shooting in West Berkeley that left a young man dead, authorities said.The suspects crashed their Cadillac into a Mazda at the busy intersection, killing a motorist. That car then spun into the path of a pedestrian - killing that person - before coming to rest against a building, said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss."It was quite a mangled scene," Kusmiss said.The names of the victims in the shooting and the crash weren't immediately released.Two suspects were arrested in the Cadillac after the collision, and the Berkeley police SWAT team, K-9 units and the Oakland police helicopter were searching late Saturday night for the two others who ran from the vehicle.The crash victims' deaths are the latest involving Bay Area motorists and pedestrians who have been killed as a result of suspects on the run.A 34-year-old Oakland woman who didn't want her name used said she was walking her two dogs when she heard sirens and saw a car being chased by police east on Aileen. The car then barreled into a sedan heading north on Martin Luther King Jr. Way."That car just goes flying," she said. "Everything is spinning and smashing into the building. The two of them got out of the car and ran. They hopped into a backyard."Moments before the crash, she said, she had seen a man crossing the street. She said she didn't know if he had been hit.he said she had mixed feelings about what she had witnessed."I don't know why these guys were running from them, why they just didn't stop and why this had to end in some horrible tragedy," she said, adding, "I feel that the police were completely doing their job, but it's a residential area. People were out walking on the street."The series of events began at 6:35 p.m. when Berkeley police received reports of a shooting near the corner of 10th and Allston streets in West Berkeley, Kusmiss said. A young man was found dead at the scene from numerous gunshot wounds, police said.Police saw four men fleeing in a tan Cadillac and began chasing it through West and South Berkeley before it crashed.The crash happened outside the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, the biomedical research arm of Children's Hospital Oakland, which is located several blocks away.Martin Luther King Jr. Way is a busy thoroughfare marked by numerous "senior crossing" signs, warning motorists to slow down because of the number of elderly residents who live at the nearby Sojourner Truth Manor retirement home.The crash was a grim reminder of the dangers posed by police pursuits.In the Bay Area, innocent motorists have been killed in recent years in Berkeley, Concord, El Sobrante, Hayward, Oakland, Pinole and San Francisco.Police in many cities are authorized to continue a chase if the person being pursued is suspected of a violent crime, such as a homicide. Some police agencies abort pursuits if the dangers involved outweigh the benefits of arresting the suspects, especially those wanted for relatively minor infractions such as speeding.In general, a police officer is allowed to pursue suspects into a neighboring city as long as a supervising officer approves it, police say, and it's customary for dispatchers to notify their counterparts when pursuits cross city lines. CONTINUE READING...

Ex-BART cop's lawyers press case against D.A.

(05-13) 17:06 PDT OAKLAND -- Lawyers for a former BART police officer charged with murdering an unarmed passenger pressed their case to disqualify the district attorney's office Wednesday, after the state acknowledged that two Oakland policemen had tried to question the officer without a lawyer but argued it was not illegal.The volley of legal filings came as both sides prepared for Monday's preliminary hearing in Alameda County Superior Court to determine whether there is enough evidence to try Johannes Mehserle for murder in the Jan. 1 shooting death of Oscar Grant.Grant, 22, of Hayward, was shot in the back while lying on the platform at BART's Fruitvale Station in Oakland, where officers were holding him after an early morning fight on a train. Mehserle's lawyers say the 27-year-old officer thought he was firing his Taser stun gun. He is free on $3 million bail.A hearing is also scheduled Monday on a request by Mehserle's lawyers to remove District Attorney Tom Orloff and his office from the case because of Orloff's attempt to interrogate Mehserle in jail. If Orloff is disqualified, state Attorney General Jerry Brown's office would take over the prosecution.Mehserle was charged with murder Jan. 13 and arrested later that day in Douglas County, Nev. According to police records cited by Mehserle's lawyer, Michael Rains, Orloff sent two Oakland officers to Nevada to arrest and question Mehserle. When they were unable to locate him, attorney Christopher Miller, who was then representing him, arranged Mehserle's surrender, Rains said.Miller then visited Mehserle in jail. After he left, the two police officers arrived, read Mehserle his rights, and departed when he invoked his right to remain silent, the officers' notes said.In a motion filed April 28, Rains argued that Orloff had knowingly violated Mehserle's right to his lawyer's presence during interrogation.The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1964 that once a suspect is charged and has a lawyer, prosecutors and their representatives can't question the suspect outside the lawyer's presence.Defendants usually rely on that ruling to exclude evidence of any statements they made. In this case, Rains argued, Orloff's actions amounted to a criminal conspiracy as well as a violation of State Bar ethical standards. CONTINUE READING..

Bakery leader indicted in journalist's slaying

(04-29) 17:48 PDT OAKLAND -- More than a year and a half after Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey was gunned down while walking to work, an Alameda County grand jury indicted the leader of the now-defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery on Wednesday on charges that he ordered the journalist killed.The indictment accuses Yusuf Bey IV, 23, of murder for allegedly telling two followers to kill the 57-year-old Bailey on Aug. 2, 2007. The grand jury that returned the indictment heard two days of testimony last week from the alleged gunman, Devaughndre Broussard, 21, who until Wednesday was the only person charged in Bailey's death. Broussard, a former handyman at the bakery, told prosecutors in March that Bey wanted Bailey dead because he believed the journalist was working on a story about Your Black Muslim Bakery's internal problems. He said Bey also blamed Bailey for the 2003 death of his father, Yusuf Bey, who founded the black self-empowerment group in 1968 and led it until dying of cancer. In addition to Bailey's slaying, the indictment accuses Bey of murder for allegedly ordering the killings of two men in July 2007, 36-year-old Michael Wills and Odell Roberson Jr., 31. He is also accused in a December 2006 incident in which someone shot into an unoccupied car in Oakland. The charges carry the special circumstance of multiple murder, meaning that Bey, if convicted, could be sentenced to death. Prosecutors have not said whether they will pursue the death penalty. Another bakery figure, Antoine Mackey, 23, was also indicted on murder charges in the shootings of Bailey, Roberson and Wills.  He and Bey are scheduled to appear in Alameda County Superior Court on May 6. Both are already in custody, Bey on unrelated kidnapping and torture charges, and Mackey for a burglary conviction. Earlier Wednesday, Bey was ordered to stand trial on six counts stemming from the kidnapping case. CONTINUE READING

Editor's confessed killer says he was 'conned'

He may have been a cold-blooded killer and "soldier" in Your Black Muslim Bakery, but Devaughndre Broussard was crying like a child after a few minutes alone with bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV. That night in August 2007, Broussard - who had just been caught trying to get rid of the shotgun used the day before to kill Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey - held out for hours under police interrogation. Suddenly, Oakland police presented Broussard with Bey, a man who, although just two years his senior, he had trusted and followed - but who had just identified him to investigators as Bailey's killer. Broussard demanded to talk to Bey alone. In those moments, Bey's power over his follower was supreme. Bey had ordered him to shoot the journalist, Broussard said, but now he was telling him he had to take sole responsibility for the good of the bakery, a black self-empowerment group that had been an Oakland institution for nearly 40 years. He promised him an easy life in return once he got out of prison. Broussard, then 19, was far from a gullible weakling. When he turned against Bey last month and told his story to an Alameda County prosecutor, Broussard - the hardened product of housing projects and group homes - made it clear he knew the reality of the streets. He had even read Machiavelli, he said.

A way to get a job, diploma

In his year at the bakery, Broussard had developed a skepticism bordering on contempt toward the "con" that Bey was running - "that religious s-," being pushed by a young man with a couple of houses and luxury cars who called on his followers to sacrifice. But at the same time, he embraced the bakery's discipline as a way to get a job, earn a high school diploma, then get a college education - because, he said, "I knew I was destined for something." Only too late, he said, did he realize he had thrown his life away. Devaughndre Broussard grew up in housing projects and group homes in San Francisco's Western Addition and, later, with his father in Richmond. By 18, he was a high school dropout jailed for robbery. But at points in his childhood, he had shown potential. When he was 15, Broussard took part in a mentorship program at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and won a $100 savings bond for showing how best to invest a hypothetical $1 million. Now, a day before he was to get out of San Francisco jail in July 2006, a friend asked him what he intended to do. "S-! Go back to the 'hood," Broussard, who is now 21, said during a five-hour interview in March with Deputy District Attorney Chris Lamiero, the prosecutor in the Bailey case. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Bailey slaying defendant testifies against Bey

(04-21) 12:47 PDT OAKLAND -- The man accused of fatally shooting Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey testified before a grand jury today that he was ordered to commit the killing by the leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery, his attorney said. Devaughndre Broussard, 21, a former handyman at the now-defunct black self-empowerment group, has struck a plea agreement with Alameda County prosecutors under which he agreed to testify against bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV and another bakery figure, Antoine Mackey. In exchange, Broussard has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter, for the 2007 killings of Bailey and Odell Roberson, and be sentenced to 25 years in state prison. Broussard began his testimony at 10:40 a.m. in the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland, about 12 blocks from where Bailey, 57, was shot to death by a masked gunman Aug. 2, 2007, as he walked to work. Broussard, the only person charged with Bailey's murder, told an Alameda County prosecutor last month that he committed the killing on Bey's orders. Broussard said he had pulled the trigger on a high-powered rifle, firing enough shots to make sure "it ain't no coming back," and that Mackey had driven the getaway van. Bey was angry about reporting that Bailey was doing for the Oakland Post on the bakery's internal and financial problems, Broussard said. Bey also held a grudge against Bailey for reporting the journalist supposedly did that "killed" Bey's father, who founded the bakery in 1968 and died of cancer in 2003, Broussard said. Bey also kept a list of "people that he wanted to get rid of," Broussard told the prosecutor. The grand jury is considering whether to indict Bey and Mackey on murder charges. Broussard gave his testimony in secret, and under grand jury rules, there is no cross-examination from attorneys for the targets of the proceedings. Bey's attorney, Anne Beles, has said her client had nothing to do with Bailey's death. Bey, 23, is in jail awaiting trial on unrelated charges of kidnapping two women and torturing one of them. Broussard's attorney, LeRue Grim, said of his client, " I would describe him as living in a hell. He's really suffering from all this. He feels this is the right thing to do." Grim said Broussard was "deeply remorseful" for the killings of Bailey and Roberson, the uncle of a man who had been convicted of killing Bey's brother Antar Bey. "He knows it all," Grim said. "Everything he says is corroborated by the surrounding circumstances and other witnesses. He has been involved in some things that are not noble. But what he is saying is a very noble thing, and these are people who are being called to account for egregious crimes." Also at the courthouse was Broussard's mother, who asked that her name not be used. She said she was there to support her son. When Broussard joined the bakery in 2006 after being released from state prison for a robbery conviction, "I thought it was a good thing," she said. Broussard told Bailey prosecutor Chris Lamiero last month that at first he had done odd jobs and errands for the bakery, and had later been used on "security details." When she heard her son had confessed to Bailey's slaying, she said, "I figured, if you did it, you've got to suffer the consequences." Later, when her son recanted and said Bey had pressured him to admit to the killing, she said she was mystified. Broussard is expected to testify the rest of the afternoon and possibly Wednesday as well. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Grand jury to probe Oakland editor's slaying

EXCERPT FROM SF CHRONICLE ~ (04-15) 22:43 PDT Oakland -- The man accused of fatally shooting Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey has entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors and is expected to testify before a grand jury next week that he was ordered to carry out the killing by the leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery, sources told The Chronicle Wednesday. Devaughndre Broussard, 21, a bakery handyman, has also indicated that he will say that Yusuf Bey IV ordered at least two other killings committed the month before Bailey was killed on Aug. 2, 2007. Broussard's attorney confirmed Wednesday that his client will admit he personally carried out the slaying of the 57-year-old Oakland Post editor as well as the retribution killing of the uncle of the now-convicted killer of Bey IV's brother, Antar. Broussard is the only person now charged with murdering Bailey. He was arrested the day after a masked gunman attacked the journalist as he walked to work on a downtown Oakland street. A grand jury has been impaneled to consider whether to indict Bey IV in Bailey's killing and other charges in light of the deal that will send Broussard to prison for a 25-year term on two counts of voluntary manslaughter. Some investigators have long suspected Bey of having been complicit in the killing, and recently revealed that evidence points to his having ordered Broussard to carry it out.  Broussard confessed to the killing after he was put in a room alone with Bey while both men were in the custody of Oakland police. He later recanted, saying Bey had pressured him to "take the fall." A judge had ordered Broussard to stand trial for murder in May. The former lead investigator into the killing, Sgt. Derwin Longmire, who put Bey and Broussard together in the room before the confession, was placed on paid leave by the Police Department this week.  Department officials accused Longmire of insubordination and compromising a police investigation, disciplinary charges that could get him suspended or fired.

Secret testimony

The grand jury - a group of citizens who hear testimony and then decide whether to indict - does not allow for witnesses to be represented by lawyers. Those witnesses are subpoenaed by the district attorney, and their testimony is given in secret. An indictment stands in lieu of a preliminary hearing, in which a judge decides whether there is enough evidence to bring a defendant to trial.The impaneling of the grand jury in the Bailey killing was confirmed by sources close to the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of the proceedings. Chris Lamiero, the Alameda County deputy district attorney prosecuting the Bailey case, declined to comment Wednesday. Officer Jeff Thomason, an Oakland police spokesman, also declined to answer questions. Broussard's attorney, LeRue Grim, said late Wednesday that the deal was struck after his client realized that Bey IV was "not his friend," adding that Broussard then decided he would go to prosecutors to "straighten it all out." Bey's attorney in other bakery-related charges, Anne Beles, has said repeatedly that her client had nothing to do with the Bailey killing. Bey has been jailed since August 2007, awaiting trial on unrelated charges of kidnapping and torture.  The grand jury probe of Bey is the latest chapter in the increasingly troubled history of the bakery, once a beacon of opportunity in Oakland's impoverished black community. CONTINUE READING...

Oakland Police Memorial Services: Oracle Arena

Dozens march for Mixon, against police

(03-25) 20:36 PDT Oakland -- About 60 people marched and rallied in Oakland on Wednesday to condemn the police and honor Lovelle Mixon, who was killed by Oakland police after he fatally shot four officers Saturday. "OPD you can't hide - we charge you with genocide," chanted the demonstrators as they marched along MacArthur Boulevard, near the intersection with 74th Avenue where Mixon, 26, a fugitive parolee, gunned down two motorcycle officers who had pulled him over in a traffic stop. He killed two more officers who tried to capture him where he was hiding in his sister's apartment nearby. The protest was organized by the Oakland branch of the Uhuru Movement, whose flyers for the march declared, "Stop Police Terror." Many marchers wore T-shirts featuring Mixon's photo, including a woman identified by march organizers as Mixon's mother. The woman declined to comment and gave her name only as Athena. Lolo Darnell, one of Mixon's cousins at the demonstration, said, "He needs sympathy too. If he's a criminal, everybody's a criminal." Asked about police allegations that Mixon was suspected in several rapes, including that of a 12-year-old girl, marcher Mandingo Hayes said, "He wasn't a rapist. I don't believe that." Bystanders had mixed reactions. Nicole Brown said that she can't condone murder but that police don't respect residents of the area. Daria Belt said she had no sympathy for the protesters but sympathized for Mixon's family. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Oakland holds vigil for 4 slain officers

The brutal deaths of four Oakland police officers prompted an outpouring of sympathy Tuesday, from makeshift memorials to donations to a vigil that drew hundreds to the scene of some of the weekend's bloodshed.The night before, the last officer critically wounded in the incident was taken off life support. John Hege, 41, was declared brain dead Sunday, but family members kept him on life support until Monday to donate his heart, liver and kidneys, in keeping with his wishes, said Alameda County Medical Center spokeswoman Andrea Breaux. At Oakland police headquarters, so many cards, flowers and prayer candles had been left at the side entrance that people coming in and out of the building had to squeeze past the condolences. Inside, a row of oversized floral displays perfumed the lobby. Nearby stood an easel bearing a black T-shirt printed with the words "Rest in Peace" and silkscreened images of the four officers killed. "Oakland needs to be healed," Rev. John Clark of Praise Fellowship Church told the crowd gathered for the evening candlelight vigil. "Guns needs to be laid down, and communication needs to be picked up." Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums thanked the crowd for coming out and said that President Barack Obama had reached out to offer sympathies to the families of the slain officers. He then made a plea for peace. "Hopefully this opens a widening door to a vision of a community without violence, without killings, without war," he said. "Go in peace." After the vigil, dozens of people gathered at a makeshift memorial for Lovelle Mixon, the parolee accused of shooting the four officers before being killed in a gunfight. A funeral for the officers was scheduled for Friday morning at Oracle Arena. Meanwhile, thousands of dollars in donations for the officers' families continued to pour in, including a $10,000 gift from a Southern California Indian tribe. Police said Hege and his partner, Sgt. Mark Dunakin, were gunned down when the two motorcycle officers pulled over Mixon on Saturday. In the manhunt that followed, two more officers — Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35 — died when the city's SWAT team stormed an apartment where Mixon was hiding. Mixon was killed in the shootout. Acting Police Chief Howard Jordan commended a bystander who rushed to the aid of the officers shot at the traffic stop. Clarence Ellis tried to stop Dunakin's bleeding before first responders arrived, the chief said. "He did an outstanding job, and he took action that most citizens probably would not take," Jordan said. The day before the traffic stop, Oakland investigators had gotten information possibly linking Mixon to a February rape. DNA found at the scene was a probable match to Mixon, police spokesman Jeff Thomason said. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle published Tuesday, Lt. Kevin Wiley said the victim in that rape case was a 12-year-old girl who was threatened at gunpoint, dragged off the street and sexually assaulted in a secluded area between homes. Investigators also told the Chronicle that Mixon may have committed as many as five other rapes in the area. Wiley did not return a call by The Associated Press, and Thomason refused to discuss details of the rape case Tuesday. California prison records show that authorities also had issued a warrant for Mixon's arrest after he missed a mandatory meeting with his parole officer on Feb. 19. The incident has prompted California's attorney general to call for better monitoring of parole violators. Prison and court records show Mixon, 26, had served nearly five years in state prison for assault with a firearm during an armed robbery in San Francisco. More recently, he served several months in prison last year for a parole violation. Mixon also was a suspect in a December 2007 murder but was never charged because of lack of evidence, officials said. Mixon's family members said he recently had been upset that he was unable to find work, felt his parole officer was not helping him and feared he would be arrested for a parole violation. During traffic stops, police often check vehicle records to find whether the driver has outstanding warrants. But police have not disclosed how exactly Saturday's shootings unfolded, citing a pending investigation. "There will be a time and place later when we will discharge the results of our investigation," Thomason said. SOURCE: SFGATE.COM

Parolee stood over stricken police officers and fired again

Lovelle Mixon, 27, a parolee on the run, already had shot Oakland police Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, and Officer John Hege, 41. Then, as the two men lay on the ground, Mixon stood over them and fired again.  Those were some of the horrifying details that emerged today about the shooting deaths of four veteran Oakland police officers Saturday.Dunakin, 40, of Tracy, a motorcycle officer, stopped a Buick driven by Mixon in the 7400 block of MacArthur Boulevard at about 1:08 p.m. Saturday, possibly for expired registration, police sources said. It is not known whether Hege, of Concord, also a motorcycle officer, was with Dunakin at the initial stop or pulled up later. Dring the stop, Dunakin requested Mixon's license and ran a check, sources said. Mixon's picture was on the license, but the number for the license belonged to another person. As Dunakin was walking back to the car, Mixon stepped out and began shooting with an semi-automatic handgun, hitting Dunakin and Hege, police sources said. The officers did not have a chance to draw their weapons or to radio for help. Witnesses said Mixon then stood over the stricken officers and shot them again before fleeing with the gun. A passer-by gave aid to the officers and made the first 911 call at 1:16 p.m. A massive manhunt began, and police cordoned off the block where the car stop and shooting occurred. Within a short time, officers got a tip that the shooter was inside an apartment building on 74th Avenue, a short distance away.  It was not clear whether they know the true identity of the suspect or that he was wanted on a no-bail warrant; however, sources said the tipster may have known Mixon. Within 45 minutes of the initial traffic stop, police from Oakland and other agencies had blocked off the street and surrounded the apartment building. A SWAT team, led by Dan Sakai, 35, of Castro Valley, and camouflaged sharpshooters got into position. Police attempted to make contact with Mixon but got no response. Believing the public may have been in danger, the team decided to enter the apartment, sources said. Sakai; Erv Romans, 43, of Danville; Officer Pat Gonzales; and three other Oakland officers forcibly entered the apartment and made their way down a dark hallway. At some point, at least one and possibly two flash-bang grenades were fired into the apartment. Mixon, who police believe was hiding in a closet in a back bedroom, began firing through the door and wall, without warning. Romans was the first officer hit, police sources said. The officers did not see Mixon but returned fire in the direction of the gunshots. One or two officers started dragging Romans out of the room, hearing bullets whizzing by their heads.  An Alameda County sheriff's deputy who had SWAT training saw them carry Romans outside and went into the apartment to help return fire, sources said. Mixon was killed, but not before Sakai received a mortal wound to the head, sources said. Gonzales was hit in the shoulder, and a bullet grazed his SWAT helmet. He drove himself to Highland Hospital, where he was treated and released.  Mixon's 16-year-old cousin, who was sleeping inside the apartment when the officers broke inside, was not hit. SOURCE:CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Mourners Place Flowers for Slain Officers at Oakland Police Headquarters

Fourth officer declared brain dead

Motorcycle Officer John Hege, who was critically injured in a shootout Saturday with a parolee, was pronounced brain dead this morning. Three police sergeants shot in the gunbattles died immediately, and a fifth officer received a graze wound to his skull and a bullet wound to his shoulder, police said. Hege, 41, of Concord, was pronounced brain dead at 11:25 this morning at Highland Hospital, police spokesman Jeff Thomason said. He is still on life support until the finial decision can be made on organ donation. The three police sergeants who died were Sgt. Erv Romans, 43; Mark Dunakin, 40; and Sgt. Dan Sakai, 35. A fifth officer was treated and release for his wounds. Lovelle Mixon, 26, who was wanted Today, several of Hege's fellow officers parked a pair of patrol cars outside

his parents' home in Piedmont, standing guard to keep the family's grief safe and private.Hege had served for about eight years as a high school basketball coach and referee before enrolling a police academy, friends recalled."He was one of those guys you meet that you don't forget," said Bill Michels, who said he'd worked alongside Hege in the East Bay Basketball Officials Association (EBBOA). "He makes an impression on you. ... He was a good partner, a team player and great guy to work with."meeting a young Hege fresh out of high school when he signed up to referee for high school football and basketball games."He had a very big heart. It was so important to him that he be fair to both teams," Mapp said. "He did that for almost eight years, until just before he went full-time into the police academy. At the time he did that mainly because he wanted to make some money, have a good-paying job."The mood was somber Sunday morning in front of Sakai's home in Castro Valley where at least three Oakland Police officers stood guard and a small group of friends and neighbors had gathered. One neighbor on the leafy street said Sakai was "a nice guy" and that neighbors had put up their American flags in a show of support for his family.The wind whipped at the flags in front of the single-family homes along the street.People went in and out of the home and hugged each other on the porch. Eyes were red as police and civilians alike said they would not provide comment out of respect for Sakai's family.Oakland Police Officer L. Pau, who had a black piece of tape across the Oakland Police Department patch on his uniform, said the Sakai family had spoken to the Oakland Police chief, but would not comment further.Dunakin had been with the Oakland Police Department since 1991, serving several years as a homicide investigator. He was married with three children. His wife, Angela Schwab, was a former Alameda County Sheriffs Deputy who was taken captive after responding to a robbery in December, 1998 at an Outback in Dublin. Another deputy was shot to death in that incident.Brad Lawrence, 42, of Georgia, said he was a roommate of Romans in the early 1990s in Hayward. They had kept in touch over the years through e-mail."He was a good guy, a former Marine, a drill sergeant in the Marine Corps. He went to work for the Oakland Housing Authority," Lawrence said."His dream was to work for the Oakland Police Department. I think he graduated number one in his class from the academy."Lawrence said Romans was from Michigan. He was "kind of a country boy at heart. Used to like to go shooting, hunting. Just all around good guy. He was an excellent cop. ... Just a great guy, tactically sound."Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the shootings.on a "No Bail" warrant for violating his parole for assault with a deadly weapon, was shot and killed by SWAT officers.