UPDATE: A suspect in the killing of Jen Angel has been identified as Ishmael Jenkins Burch. He has been charged with murder and robbery. Read more.
OAKLAND, Calif. – A radical self-described anarchist who owned a bakery in Oakland, California has died following a strong-armed robbery on Monday. The woman who believed in the abolishment of law enforcement sustained severe injuries during the violent crime, and passed away on Thursday, according to reports.
Jen Angel, 48, was dragged for nearly 50 feet after struggling with two men in a vehicle who tried to steal her purse. The social justice reform advocate had a strict policy of never calling the police, the Post Millennial reported.
Investigators said the purse-snatching incident took place about 12:29 p.m. Monday in the 2000 block of Webster St. less than a mile away from her shop, Angel Cakes bakery.
Angel was in the parking lot when a suspect vehicle blocked her exit. A perpetrator approached her car, smashed a window, reached inside to grab her purse and then fled to the waiting getaway car, CBS News Bay Area reported.
The woman chased after the suspect and attempted to retrieve her property. However, she became caught in the fleeing vehicle’s door and was dragged more than 50 feet before dropping off.
As a result, Angel sustained serious head injuries. She was rushed to the Highland Hospital Trauma Unit, but the medical team soon revealed she was unlikely to survive. Her family announced Thursday evening that she had been “medically declared to have lost all brain function and will not regain consciousness,” thus declaring her dead.
In a GoFundMe organized to cover expenses, her family said that if police locate the suspects, they are “committed to pursuing all available alternatives to traditional prosecution, such as restorative justice.”
