A 19-year-old man is facing murder charges in the death of Oakland baker Jen Angel in February.
Ishmael Jenkins Burch was arrested in Oakland on suspicion of murder with robbery enhancements on June 5, court records show. He was first taken into custody in San Francisco on June 2 on battery charges.
Oakland police confirmed Saturday that Burch was taken into custody in connection with the death of Angel, 48, who was robbed while in her car in the 2000 block of Webster Street in Oakland on Feb. 6.
The robber ran to a waiting car to flee. Angel attempted to retrieve her belongings and was knocked to the ground during a struggle, according to police.
She was hospitalized in critical condition and died three days later.
Angel was an activist and the founder of Angel Cakes Bakery on Fifth Street in Oakland.
Burch is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. He is scheduled to appear in court for a plea hearing at 9 a.m. July 14 at Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
Angel was involved in multiple causes since arriving in the Bay Area from the Midwest in 1997. She baked cupcakes for people who had just been released from prison. She identified with an anarchist philosophy of mutual aid and volunteerism.
In February, a statement announcing Angel’s death said that if an arrest is made in the case, her family is “committed to pursuing all available alternatives to traditional prosecution, such as restorative justice.” A memorial gathering for Angel in May attracted hundreds of people.