Oct 19, 2007 3:09 am US/Pacific
Bakery Suspect Pleads Not Guilty To Bailey Murder
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
The man accused of the murder of Oakland Post newspaper editor Chauncey Bailey appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Devaughndre Broussard, 19, had worked as a handyman for the Oakland-based business called Your Black Muslim Bakery. He is accused of shooting Bailey, who would have celebrated his 58th birthday Saturday, multiple times on 14th Street near Alice Street on Aug. 2 as he was walking from his home near Lake Merritt to the newspaper offices several blocks away.
At the brief hearing in Alameda County Superior Court, Judge Morris Beatus set Nov. 21 as the date for a preliminary hearing that will determine whether there's enough evidence to order Broussard to stand trial.
Investigators said Broussard confessed to killing Bailey because he was investigating the bakery's financial problems and a power struggle that followed the death of bakery founder Yusuf Bey in 2003. Police said they also have gun evidence connecting Broussard to the shooting.
But Broussard's attorney has repeatedly claimed the statements made by his client to police were coerced.
Outside court Thursday, defense lawyer LeRue Grim said Broussard took responsibility for the killing at the request of bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV, 21, because he "wanted to be a good soldier."
Grim said that when the case goes to trial, Broussard will testify and will identify the person who killed Bailey.
Grim said Broussard will testify that at a meeting of bakery associates the night after the killing another bakery member "said he killed Bailey and how he did it and how smart he was and police will never solve the crime."
"The trial will be a search for the truth," Grim said.
Grim refused to disclose the name of the man that Broussard claims actually killed Bailey.
Grim said he thinks police haven't arrested the person whom Broussard said killed Bailey because they don't have enough evidence against him.
Assistant Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said the day after Bailey was shot that police believe Bey IV was involved in some fashion.
But Bey hasn't been charged and Broussard is the only defendant currently in the case.
However, Bey is in custody without bail on recent kidnapping and real estate fraud charges. He also faces numerous other unrelated felony charges in Alameda, San Francisco and Solano counties.
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