Black muslim bakery officials arrested
in S.W.A.T team raid

Your Black Muslim Bakery, located in Oakland,
was the scene of an early morning S.W.A.T team raid.
Photo courtesy Trace3, Flickr.com

By Bay City News

August 3, 2007

City workers could be seen late this morning boarding up the front windows of Your Black Muslim Bakery in Oakland following an early morning raid by police who served arrest warrants on bakery officials.

Search and arrest warrants for alleged false imprisonment, kidnapping and murder were served at the bakery, according to the Oakland Police Department. The warrants were served following a long-term investigation, police reported.

Officials are not saying whether the raid is related to the daytime Oakland shooting death Thursday of veteran journalist Chauncey Bailey.

Blasts rang out from inside Your Black Muslim Bakery, located at 5832 San Pablo Ave. this morning and a window blew out of the building as S.W.A.T. team members armed with rifles raided the business, according to a security officer who works nearby.

At about 4:50 a.m., three rental trucks and a garbage truck pulled up in front of the bakery, said Dennis Monaghan, a security officer at Siddha Yoga Meditation Ashram, located at the corner of San Pablo and Stanford avenues, just doors down from the bakery.

The rental and garbage trucks were filled with officers holding rifles and gear, he said. The trucks were followed by SWAT vehicles and patrol cars. About 20 officers assembled in front of the bakery.

"And then you heard, 'Go, go, go!'" Monaghan said. Then there were 15 or so loud blasts, Monaghan said. During the raid, one of the upper windows of the bakery blew out, he said.

The SWAT team was inside for about an hour while the area was blocked off. At least one man, wearing a white jacket, was brought out in handcuffs, Monaghan said.

"I haven't seen such action since Vietnam," Monaghan said.

A two-block section of San Pablo Avenue around the bakery was surrounded with police tape and officers were parked in front of the business all morning.

Another young male who appeared to be in his 20s was taken into custody at about 7:45 a.m. near the bakery after surrendering to police.

Members associated with the bakery, including Yusuf Bey IV, grandson of bakery founder Yusuf Bey, were considered by Oakland police to have played a role in the November 2005 vandalism of a liquor store at 2363 San Pablo Ave.

In 2006, Bey was charged with assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly trying to use his BMW to run down several bouncers after being thrown out of a San Francisco strip club. He also faced felony charges in Solano County for allegedly fraudulently using false identification to buy a car.

Copyright © 2007 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

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