OAKLAND — The man accused of dragging a beloved Oakland baker to death last year during a purse snatching in the city’s Uptown neighborhood was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison.
Ishmael Burch, 20, received the sentence after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter and second-degree robbery in the death of longtime baker, activist and zine publisher Jen Angel, 48. The sentence came after prosecutors struck a deal that involved dropping murder and another robbery charge in exchange for his plea.
Angel’s death in February 2023 started a conversation about the criminal justice system after Angel’s family and friends called for her alleged killer to receive “all available alternatives to traditional prosecution, such as restorative justice.”
A longtime activist, Angel often argued against institutions like policing, jails and prisons in favor of non-carceral models of justice, suggesting that decades-long prison stints did little to affect the root causes of harmful behavior.
On Friday, her relatives and friends issued a statement that reiterated the need for “more work to be done to achieve Jen’s dreams of a different and more just system.”
“We recognize that the State’s process is not the one Jen would have chosen to ensure accountability and justice,” the statement read. “We also believe that the sentencing recommended by the DA in this plea deal was the best possible outcome under the current legal system, in this political climate.
“We know that Jen would not want someone involved in her death, whether complicit or not, to waste away in prison for decades, and we take some comfort in knowing Ishmael has a chance to repair some of the harm he has caused,” the statement added.
During the hearing, Burch voiced remorse and a commitment to honoring Angels’ memory, both during his imprisonment and after his eventual release, said his attorney Annie Beles.
“Ismael, his family and I are so pleased with the compassion and humanity that Jen Angel’s community and friends showed toward Ismael,” Beles said. “We are so hopeful that the conversation about restorative justice will continue within the Oakland community.”
Authorities say Burch was driving a stolen vehicle that sped away after another person took Angel’s purse and ran to the getaway car, investigative documents show. Angel was reportedly caught in the vehicle’s door while attempting to retrieve her property, and dragged more than 50 feet before falling off into the street. She had been visiting a bank at Webster and 20th streets.
Angel died in a hospital two days later from blunt force trauma to her head, according to police and court records.
She was well known as the owner of Angel Cakes and Fifth Street Bakery, while also cultivating a following as a longtime local activist and independent journalist. She founded Aid and Abet, a social-justice event-production platform that served dozens of nonprofits and activist groups. She also co-founded Clamor, a bi-monthly alternative magazine published from 1999 to 2006.
