Aug 17, 2007 3:19 am US/Pacific
Bailey Murder Suspect Says Confession Was Coerced
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
The man suspected of killing Oakland Post newspaper editor Chauncey Bailey two weeks ago was ordered by an associate at the Your Black Muslim Bakery - in the presence of Oakland police - to take the fall for the murder, his attorney said Thursday.
Devaughndre Broussard, 19, was told in the presence of police to falsely admit to Bailey's Aug. 2 shooting, his attorney, LeRue Grim said outside court after a hearing for his client was postponed. Grim refused to identify the bakery representative, but he said police brought the person in while they interrogated Broussard.
"Devaughndre could be completely innocent of this," said Grim, who officially entered the case Thursday, based on the limited information he has at this time.
Grimm told reporters he was "astonished" when Broussard, a handyman at the bakery, told him in a jailhouse interview Wednesday night that police were present when another bakery associate told him to take the blame for the shooting.
Grim said his client "feels betrayed" and has realized "his trust has been taken advantage of and he's been used." Grimm added that he's concerned about his client's safety in jail, where he's being held without bail.
Oakland Assistant Police Chief Howard Jordan refused to comment on Grim's allegations, but told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper that investigators had treated all parties in the Bailey case with "dignity and respect" and had done an "excellent job."
Bailey, 57, was shot multiple times on 14th Street near Alice Street two weeks ago as he was walking in the morning from his home near Lake Merritt to his job at the Post newspaper offices several blocks away at 405 14th St.
Police said Broussard had admitted killing the journalist because he was angry over Bailey's investigation into the bakery's finances for a story he planned to write. They also denied another of Broussard's allegations, that he was beaten into confessing.
Grim spoke to reporters after Broussard made a brief appearance Thursday in Alameda County Superior Court. He is expected to enter a plea on Sept. 20.
Also Thursday, a hearing for 21-year old Yusef Bey IV, the son of the Your Black Muslim Bakery founder, was postponed until Aug. 30. Bey is in custody without bail, accused of real estate fraud and kidnapping and torturing two women in May. Bey and Broussard were among seven men arrested two weeks ago in a raid on the bakery organization.
Asst. Chief Jordan said the day of the raid that police believe Bey was involved in some fashion in Bailey's death. But Bey hasn't been charged and Broussard is the only defendant in the case.
However, Bey is in custody without bail on kidnapping and real estate fraud charges.
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