A new book by Oakland writer Thomas Peele called Killing the Messenger just recently hit shelves. The subtitle, "A story of radical faith, racism's backlash, and the assassination of a journalist," sums up well what Peele has done here, which is essentially to begin at the beginning, with the rise of Black Muslims in 1930s Detroit, and trace the line through to the bastardized and radicalized dogma of Yusuf Bey's Your Black Muslim Bakery and the empire/crime syndicate he created in Oakland, which was ultimately responsible for killing a journalist who was investigating them. more ›

Four years after Yusuf Bey IV ordered the murder of reporter Chauncey Bailey, there's finally some closure to the case: Bey, who was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder back in June, was sentenced in an Oakland Superior Court today to three consecutive life terms in prison. more ›

After nearly two weeks of jury deliberations, an Alameda Superior Court jury ruled Yusuf Bey IV guilty on three counts of murder for ordering the killings of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, Michael Wills and Odell Roberson Jr. in 2007. The other defendant in the case, Antoine Mackey was also convicted on two counts of murder in the first degree for the killing of Bailey and Michael Wills. Both Bey and Mackey will face the possibility of life in prison without parole when they are due for sentencing on July 8th. more ›

The triple-murder trial of Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey is nearing its end in Oakland, as the defense begins putting witnesses on the stand today. Defense attorney Gene Peretti, who's serving as Bey's lawyer, says he only plans to call a few witnesses, and expects to rely on the state of evidence as it is now. more ›

The confessed killer of Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey took the stand today in the trial of Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV and his associate Antoine Mackey. The two defendants are on trial for three murders, two of which Bey is said to have ordered and one of which Mackey is said to have committed. more ›

An Alameda County judge has denied a request by accused murderers Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey to move the trial out of the County, as the Oakland Tribune is now reporting. Bey and Mackey are standing trial for the 2007 murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey, who was at the time investigating the finances of Your Black Muslim Bakery, as well as for the murders of two other men, Odell Roberson and Michael Willis. more ›

New recordings have come to light of conversations between Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV, from the Santa Rita jail where he's being held, and his "Number One Soldier" Gary Popoff that suggest we may have a new star player in the upcoming triple murder trial of Bey and co-defendant Antoine Mackey. more ›

The big tabloid-crime news story of the day is the connection being made between a body found last week in a McLaren Park homeless encampment (which was apparently once attached to this severed leg, and was not, as investigators first thought, that of a woman but in fact was a man's) and the murderous folks from Your Black Muslim Bakery in Oakland. The bakery, as you may recall, was connected to the 2007 murder of Chauncey Bailey, a journalist who had been investigating trouble at the bakery. more ›

Chauncey Bailey, former editor of the Oakland Post who was murdered last August while investigating Your Black Muslim Bakery and the Muslim splinter group's shady dealings, received the prestigious George Polk Award last week for local journalism. Congrats, Bailey! more ›

[sorry we're late today!] more ›

Your Black Muslim Bakery update: the business is being liquidated in an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding (they have almost $1 million in debt) after a number of unnamed potential buyers dropped out, and the 19-year-old arrested for shooting journalist Chauncey Bailey now says (video clip) he was beaten and coerced into a false confession to the murder. The Oakland PD homicide officer assigned to the case says that's false and they have a taped confession where alleged shooter Devaundre Broussard calmly and openly discussing the facts of the case. Meanwhile, Rep. Barbara Lee is now saying she regrets having supported Your Black Muslim Bakery in the past. more ›

The Chronicle reports that Yusuf Bey's son-in-law, Saleem Bey, 43, who worked at Your Black Muslim Bakery for ten years, was the main source for journalist Chauncey Bailey's unpublished stories about the bakery. It seems that he told Bailey about "illegal bankruptcy and plans to liquidate the bakery," as well as Yusuf Bey IV's numerous arrests and overall lunacy. more ›

Okay, we're kind of scared to say anything about the Your Black Muslim Bakery now, so let's just leave it at the handyman confessed, Chauncey Bailey's source has come out, and the bakery didn't do so well in health inspections last year. Oh, and the handyman was arrested in SF for mugging someone on a MUNI on Halloween 2005, but was spared jail time (see comments for clarification) by the DA's office for lack of evidence. more ›

- The Alcatraz Challenge Aquathlon's motto "Swim or Die" proves literal after a competitor dies during race. [Chron, Examiner] more ›

Just as previously thought, Oakland Tribune reports that the evidence (i.e., a shotgun) found during this morning's raid at Your Black Muslim Bakery is most likely linked to yesterday's gang-style killing of Chauncey Bailey. Yikes. more ›

As already mentioned in Blotter's comments and in our tips section, Your Black Muslim Bakery on San Pablo Avenue (hot fish sandwiches -- mmm) was raided this morning, resulting in the arrests of over a dozen people. Police, bomb units, and SWAT teams came down on the bakery and several other "related locations" in North Oakland and Emeryville at 5 a.m. (Read Chron's article about it here, Examiner's here.) more ›

-- Jackson West interviews Matt Stroud, SF Weekly's former web editor, just before he leaves SF. [Future Fresser] more ›

Chauncey Bailey, a local journalist with the Oakland Post [no online site] and who had previously worked at the Oakland Tribune, was shot to death at around 7:30 a.m. this morning in downtown Oakland in what the authorities are characterizing as an assassination-style hit. more ›