Family of San Francisco baker who was dragged to her death urge prosecutors not ... trends now

The family of an Oakland baker who was dragged to her death by a getaway car during a purse snatching is calling for no jail time for the suspect because it 'goes against her social justice beliefs.'

Ishmael Burch, 19, was taken into custody earlier this month on charges in connection to the February 6 death of Jen Angel, 48, who was robbed by two thieves while she was sitting in her car in the downtown area of the city.

Burch was allegedly driving the getaway car as a second person smashed Angel's car window and grabbed her purse. She tried to chase down the car, but got caught in the door and was dragged 50ft down the street. She died two days later.

Angel's loved ones said in a statement shortly after her death that she was a 'social justice activist' who 'did not believe in state violence, carceral punishment, or incarceration as an effective or just solution to social violence and inequity.' 

Their statement was reiterated in the wake of Burch's arrest as they urged prosecutors not to jail the suspect. He is currently being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail and is set to appear in court on July 14. 

The purse snatching happened around 12:30 p.m. on February 6 in the parking lot on Wells Fargo Bank in Oakland. Burch, of San Francisco, was identified as the driver of the getaway car through cell phone data and surveillance footage, according to Mercury News.

He was first taken into custody on June 2 on battery charges and then charged on June 5 by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office in Oakland on suspicion of felony murder with robbery enhancements.

Angel, who opened her famed Oakland cupcake shop 'Angel Cakes' in 2008, was a longtime community activist who did not believe in incarceration.

She founded founded Aid and Abet, a social-justice event-production platform that served dozens of nonprofits and activist groups, and co-founded magazine Clamor.

Angel's close friend Moira Birss told KUTV that her friend strongly disagreed with the current criminal justice system, and would not want her alleged killer to go to prison.

'Hopefully…we're not defined by the worst thing we've ever done, and that the possibility for redemption and for her healing and care for each other and mutual support is really, was really, important to Jen,' Birss said.