Annie Vainshtein

Feb. 9, 2023

The owner of a cherished Oakland bakery who was severely injured in a robbery on Monday died Thursday afternoon, according to an online post from her family and friends. 

Angel Cakes owner Jennifer Angel, 48, had been on life support three days after she was dragged more than 50 feet by the car of thieves who cornered and robbed her in the parking lot of a Wells Fargo in Oakland.

Angel’s fiance, Ocean Mottley, told The Chronicle Thursday that doctors were planning to take Angel off life support imminently to see whether she could breathe on her own. 

Shortly before 6 p.m. Angel had been "medically declared to have lost all brain function and will not regain consciousness," the post said. 

"Friends and family of Jen hope that the story of this last chapter of her brilliant, full, dynamic life is one focused on her commitment to community, on the care bestowed upon her and her family by the people who loved her, and on the generous and courageous role of countless health care workers and public servants who fought to preserve her life," it continued.

The brutality of the robbery, which unfolded on a busy street in broad daylight, has shaken the culinary and political communities Angel was a part of in the Bay Area, where she has longtime roots. The robbery took place on Angel’s day off from her busy work as the owner of the small-batch cupcake shop and catering business that opened in one of Oakland’s historic Victorian buildings, T.J.’s Gingerbread House.

By Thursday afternoon, more than $90,000 had been raised through GoFundMe to support her family. 

Oakland police officials refused Thursday to provide additional details about the attack, which took place around 12:30 p.m. Monday in the parking lot by the 2000 block of Webster Street. They also declined to comment on the status of their investigation. Angel was leaving her parking spot in the lot when a car pulled up in front of her and blocked her from leaving, Mottley told The Chronicle.