A judge delayed sentencing today for the two men convicted earlier this year of murdering Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey. After a hearing on questions that have arisen about the prosecution's chief witness in the case, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon set Aug. 26 as the sentencing date for Yusuf Bey IV, the former leader of Oakland's Your Black Muslim Bakery, and an associate, Antoine Mackey.
The admitted gunman in the Bailey slaying, Devaughndre Broussard, was the main prosecution witness against Bey and Mackey. He agreed to testify in a deal that allowed him to plead guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter in Bailey's killing and the fatal shooting of a second man. Broussard testified that he carried out both those 2007 slayings the order of Bey IV and that Mackey was the get-away driver in the Bailey killing. Bey IV was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder; Mackey was found guilty on two first-degree counts for killing Bailey and yet another man--again at Bey's direction.
To conclude the plea deal, Reardon today sentenced Broussard to 25 years in state prison.
The sentencing delay for Bey and Mackey stemmed from a defense motion asking Judge Reardon to investigate the possibility that Broussard lied on the stand. The defense made the request after a June news report quoted Broussard's attorney, LeRue Grim, as saying his client "may have committed a little bit of fabrication" during his testimony.