Man Convicted of Ordering Murder of Oakland Newspaper Reporter and 2 Others
Video of DA’s press conference following the verdict
from the Contra Costa Times.
After deliberating for more than two weeks, a California jury convicted 25-year-old Yusuf Bey IV on Thursday of three counts of first-degree murder for ordering the 2007 slayings of Oakland newspaper editor Chauncey Bailey and two other men.
Jurors in the trial, which was closely watched by journalists and First Amendment advocates, had been deliberating since May 23, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Jurors found a second defendant, Antoine Mackey, 25, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Bailey and Michael Wills, 36.
Bey, the former leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery, and Mackey, a former bakery associate, face life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is set for July 8.
Prosecutors maintained at trial that Bey ordered bakery handyman Devaughndre Broussard to shoot Bailey because the journalist was working on unflattering stories about the black empowerment group, according to the Chronicle.
District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said the verdicts brought to an end “unbelievable violence, the aggressive behavior and the terror that Yusuf Bey, Antoine Mackey and Devaughndre Broussard have inflicted on the community of Oakland.”
“What may have been once a productive organization in Oakland became nothing more than a criminal street gang engaging in senseless violence and unyielding terror,” she is quoted saying.
Attorneys for Bey and Mackey reportedly intend to appeal.
More details from the Chronicle and Contra Costa Times.
Previous coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Accused of Smuggling Witness Hit List From Jailed Client”