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Murder of Chauncey Bailey

SOLVED2007Downtown Oakland, California3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

Chauncey Bailey, editor-in-chief of The Oakland Post, was shot and killed on a downtown Oakland street on August 2, 2007. At the time, he was working on a story examining the finances of Your Black Muslim Bakery (YBMB), a business then on the verge of bankruptcy. His killing prompted fellow journalists to form the Chauncey Bailey Project to continue his reporting and pursue the facts of his death, and he is described as the first American journalist killed for domestic reporting since 1976.

In the months before his death, YBMB had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with roughly $900,000 in debts, including money owed to the IRS, and faced foreclosure on its property. A former bakery employee, Ali Saleem Bey, said he had served as a source for an earlier story by Bailey that the Post's publisher, Paul Cobb, chose not to run. Cobb later said police had asked him not to discuss the matter.

On the morning of the murder, Devaughndre Broussard, a 19-year-old bakery employee, was driven in a van by 21-year-old fellow employee Antoine Mackey. Broussard, wearing a ski mask and carrying a shotgun, approached Bailey near a McDonald's on 14th Street that Bailey visited as part of his regular walk to work, and shot him multiple times at close range; Bailey died at the scene. Broussard had unsuccessfully searched for Bailey at his apartment and workplace earlier that morning and the night before.

A large pre-dawn police raid on August 3, 2007, targeting bakery properties and nearby homes led to the recovery of the shotgun used in the killing and the detention of 19 people, including Broussard, who was booked on suspicion of murder. Broussard initially confessed to the killing, calling himself "a good soldier," but later recanted, telling CBS News that he had been coerced by Yusuf Bey IV into pleading guilty to protect others who had been arrested. He ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a 25-year sentence and testimony against Bey IV and Mackey, and was released on parole in 2025.

A 2009 grand jury indictment charged Yusuf Bey IV, YBMB's owner, with ordering Bailey's execution as well as the killings of Odel Roberson and Michael Wills; Antoine Mackey was charged in the same indictment with participating in all three murders. At trial, Broussard testified that Bey IV ordered him to find, track, and kill Bailey before Bailey could publish his story. On June 9, 2011, a jury convicted both Bey IV and Mackey of multiple counts of murder, including three counts of first-degree murder against Bey IV; both were sentenced to life in prison without parole. A California appeals court upheld the convictions in 2015. Bey IV's attorney was separately convicted in 2013 of smuggling documents, including a hit list, out of jail on his behalf.

Key facts

Victims
Chauncey Bailey
Date
2007
Location
Downtown Oakland, California
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2007-08-02

    Chauncey Bailey is shot and killed on a downtown Oakland street by Devaughndre Broussard, driven by Antoine Mackey.

  2. 2007-08-03

    Oakland Police conduct a large pre-dawn raid on Your Black Muslim Bakery properties and nearby homes, recovering the shotgun used in the murder and detaining 19 people.

  3. 2007-08-04

    Devaughndre Broussard is booked on suspicion of murder.

  4. 2007-08-07

    Broussard is arraigned on charges of murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

  5. 2007-08-08

    A funeral Mass for Bailey is held at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in East Oakland.

  6. 2008-06

    A videotape of Yusuf Bey IV discussing details of Bailey's murder is obtained and published by the Chauncey Bailey Project.

  7. 2009-04

    A grand jury indicts Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey for the murders of Bailey, Odel Roberson, and Michael Wills.

  8. 2011-06-09

    Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey are convicted of multiple counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

  9. 2013

    Bey IV's attorney, Lorna Brown, is convicted of smuggling documents, including a hit list, out of jail for him.

  10. 2015

    A California state appeals court upholds the convictions of Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey.

  11. 2025

    Devaughndre Broussard is released on parole.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Antoine Mackey

    CONVICTED

    Bakery employee who drove Broussard to and from the murder scene and participated in planning; convicted in June 2011 of multiple counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

    citation on file

  • Lorna Brown

    CONVICTED

    Attorney for Yusuf Bey IV, convicted in 2013 of smuggling documents, including a hit list, out of jail for him.

    citation on file

  • Devaughndre Broussard

    CONVICTED

    Bakery handyman who confessed to being the triggerman; pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a 25-year sentence and testimony against Bey IV and Mackey; released on parole in 2025.

    citation on file

  • Yusuf Bey IV

    CONVICTED

    Owner/CEO of Your Black Muslim Bakery; convicted in June 2011 of ordering the murders of Chauncey Bailey, Odel Roberson, and Michael Wills, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

    citation on file

  • Chauncey Bailey

    VICTIM

    Editor-in-chief of The Oakland Post, shot and killed on August 2, 2007.

    citation on file

Places

Downtown Oakland, California

37.8022, -122.2658

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Oakland Post editor-in-chief Chauncey Bailey was shot to death on a downtown Oakland street on August 2, 2007, while investigating the finances of Your Black Muslim Bakery. Bakery employee Devaughndre Broussard confessed as the triggerman, and in 2011 bakery owner Yusuf Bey IV and associate Antoine Mackey were convicted of ordering and participating in the murder.
Where did the murder happen?
Downtown Oakland, California.
Who was convicted?
Antoine Mackey (Bakery employee who drove Broussard to and from the murder scene and participated in planning; convicted in June 2011 of multiple counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.), Lorna Brown (Attorney for Yusuf Bey IV, convicted in 2013 of smuggling documents, including a hit list, out of jail for him.), Devaughndre Broussard (Bakery handyman who confessed to being the triggerman; pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a 25-year sentence and testimony against Bey IV and Mackey; released on parole in 2025.), and Yusuf Bey IV (Owner/CEO of Your Black Muslim Bakery; convicted in June 2011 of ordering the murders of Chauncey Bailey, Odel Roberson, and Michael Wills, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. Murder of Chauncey Baileywikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. A Father's Fiefdom Reduced to Ruinnews · SFGate · 2026-07-07
  3. Coverage of the 2011 conviction of Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackeynews · Los Angeles Times · 2026-07-07
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