By Thomas Peele, Chauncey Bailey Project

In Devaunghdre Broussard’s confession that lead to police charging him with Chauncey Bailey’s murder, he claimed he drove to the killing alone in a borrowed white van.

But statements by the van’s owner, by witnesses to Bailey’s killing and by Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV contradict Broussard’s claims. The van belonged to Rigoberto Magana, who told police he was doing construction work at the bakery the morning of Aug. 2, when Bailey was killed. The vehicle, a white minivan, was unregistered and carried no license plates.

In his confession — which he has since recanted — Broussard claimed he borrowed the van from Magana on his own.

But Bey IV told the lead investigator on the case, Oakland Police Detective Sgt. Derwin Longmire, that Broussard came to him early the morning Bailey died and asked at first to borrow his car.
Instead, Bey IV said he instructed Broussard to ask for Magana’s van.

Bey IV said he was not involved in getting the keys from Magana and didn’t know how Broussard obtained them.

But in a separate interview, Magana told Longmire that Bey IV had come to him between 5:30 and 6 the morning of Bailey’s killing and took the keys.

“Yusuf asked if he could use my van,” Longmire’s interview notes quoted Magana as saying. “I gave the keys to Yusuf.”

But Magana told Longmire he saw another bakery worker, Antoine Mackey, drive away in the van after Bey IV took the keys.

Magana “identified Antoine Mackey immediately” from a photograph as the driver, Longmire wrote in a report.

Bailey Project efforts to reach Magana for an interview were unsuccessful.

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Investigative report:

Main story: “Secret video raises questions about bakery leader’s role in Bailey killing”

Side story: “Van owner: I gave the keys to Bey IV”

Lists: “Key players” and “Highlights gathered from documents, recordings” and “Documents and recordings”

Video: “Taped jailhouse conversation raises questions,” KTVU-TV

Video: “Jailhouse video sheds light on Bailey murder,” KGO-TV

Video: “Secret video raises questions about bakery leader’s role in Bailey killing,” Center for Investigative Reporting

Audio:  “Chauncey Bailey Project reporter Bob Butler reports on the investigation.”

Press coverage: Michael Krasny interviews Robert Rosenthal, Thomas Peele and Peter Keane.

Reaction: “Journalist’s sister sickened by video”

Profile: “Bailey killing figure had troubled youth”

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Witnesses to Bailey’s slaying told police they saw a white van with no license plates and two people inside near Alice and 14th streets, where the shooting occurred.

One witness told police that a man wearing a ski mask and carrying a sawed-off shotgun was outside the van as it was parked near Foothill Boulevard — near Bailey’s apartment — with the brake lights on. The two others said they saw both a driver and a passenger while the van was closer to the site of the ambush.
One witness reported seeing the gunman jump into a “waiting van” that then sped away as Bailey lay dead in the street about 7:20 a.m. Aug. 2.

At 7:45 a.m., Bey IV returned the keys to Magana at the bakery, according to Longmire’s notes from the interview with Magana.

Bey IV “told me he was getting goods for the bakery,” Longmire quoted Managa as saying.
Thomas Nolan, a Boston University criminology professor and former Boston Police detective, said Magana’s report indicates Bey IV was involved with the get-away vehicle directly before and after Bailey’s killing.

It “strains the bounds of credibility” for Bey IV to deny any part in the killing given Magana’s statements, Nolan said.
It’s also unclear if police questioned Mackey, who the van owner placed behind the wheel of the van that morning, in connection with Bailey’s shooting.

When police raided the bakery 22 hours after Bailey’s death, Mackey was handcuffed and detained, police documents showed.

He was released, apparently without being questioned about Bailey’s shooting. On Aug. 17, Mackey missed a court appearance in San Francisco and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The Bailey Project reached him in early December on a cell phone with an Atlanta area code. He denied any involvement in Bailey’s death.

Mackey was arrested April 1 in San Leandro on burglary, receiving stolen property and drug charges. It is unknown if Oakland Police — who have refused comment — have questioned him since his incarceration.
Interviewed briefly Saturday at the Alameda County jail in Dublin, Mackey said, “I don’t know anything” and wouldn’t answer questions.

Thomas Peele is a reporter for Bay  Area News Group-East Bay. Reach him at tpeele@bayareanewsgroup.com.