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The attorney for the man accused of murdering journalist Chauncey Bailey two weeks ago claimed today that his client is innocent and was ordered by a Your Black Muslim Bakery associate, in the presence of Oakland police, to take the fall for the shooting incident. 

After a brief court hearing for DeVaughndre Broussard, 19, a handyman at the bakery, San Francisco defense attorney LeRue Grim told reporters he was “astonished” when Broussard told him in a jailhouse interview Wednesday night that police were present when another bakery associate told him to take the blame for the shooting. 

The Oakland Tribune is reporting today that Grim said that the bakery associate made the statement to Broussard after being brought into the police interrogation room by Oakland police detectives. 

Broussard had earlier claimed in a television interview that his original confession to Bailey’s murder came only after Oakland police beat him while he was in custody. 

Grim, who officially entered the case today, said Broussard “could be completely innocent” based on the limited information he has on the case at this time. 

Grim said he knows the name of the person who Broussard says ordered him to take the fall but declined to identify anyone. 

Oakland Police spokesperson Officer Roland Holmgren released a written statement shortly after Grim’s press confrerence, saying, “The case is in the hands of the District Attorney’s office. We are not going to make any comments regarding his statements at this point. I believe the Oakland Police Department has some of the most professional and ethical investigators. The homicide investigators have done an excellent job with investigating this case. They have done so with dignity and respect for all parties involved.” 

Grim said Broussard “feels betrayed” by his bakery associates and he's concerned about his client's safety in jail, where he's being held without bail. 

Bailey, 57, was shot multiple times on 14th Street near Alice Street shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 2 as he was walking from his home near Lake Merritt to his job as editor of the Oakland Post several blocks away at 405 14th St. 

Oakland police say Broussard told them that he murdered Bailey because he didn’t like stories Bailey had written and researched about the bakery.