19-Year-Old Man Charged with Dragging Death of Beloved Baker and Activist

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A 19-year-old San Francisco man has been charged in the death of a beloved Oakland baker and activist who was critically injured in a purse snatching in a bank parking lot in February.

Investigators say Ishmael Burch was the driver of a stolen vehicle that the purse snatcher jumped into after grabbing Jen Angel’s purse on February 6, according to The Mercury News. Angel tried to retrieve her purse and was dragged more than 50 feet when she was caught in the door of the getaway car. She was hospitalized for two days before she died from blunt force trauma to the head, as CrimeOnline reported.

Police say that Burch charged in a second robbery and was connected to an attempted car burglary on the same day. He has not been charged in the attempted car break-in.

Investigators said that cell phone data put Burch at both locations, as well as surveillance video showing him in possession of the stolen vehicle, which was reported stolen on January 29.

Burch was charged with the robberies and murder on June 7, court records show. He was already in jail at the time, arrested on a battery charge on June 5.

Angel was the owner of two popular businesses, Angel Cakes and Fifth Street Bakery, and was a longtime community activist and independent journalist.

After her death, friends and family issued a statement asking for “all available alternatives to traditional prosecution, such as restorative justice,” should her killer be identified and arrested.

“As a long-time social movement activist and anarchist, Jen did not believe in state violence, carceral punishment, or incarceration as an effective or just solution to social violence and inequity,” the statement said.

There’s no word if the purse-snatcher has been identified.

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[Featured image: Jen Angel/Facebook]

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