Yusuf Bey IV, already being prosecuted in the vandalism of two West Oakland liquor stores, is facing new criminal charges in Vallejo of fraudulently obtaining a luxury car, authorities said Thursday.

Bey, 20, who heads a business empire anchored by Your Black Muslim Bakery, was arrested by Berkeley police Wednesday night on a $15,000 Vallejo warrant.

The warrant charges Bey with grand theft of a vehicle, obtaining property under false pretenses, false impersonation and possessing a forged driver's license.

A Berkeley officer stopped the Infiniti Bey was driving at Ninth and Hearst streets for not having license plates. A routine computer check revealed the warrant.

Neither Bey nor his attorney could be reached for comment Thursday.

Vallejo police said Thursday their charges against Bey stem from the purchase of a 2002 Mercedes CL 500 for $55,000 on Nov. 15 from a used-car dealer.

Police said Bey gave the dealership a driver's licensebearing information about someone else. It was a check of that person's credit that allowed Bey to purchase the car, police said.

At the time of the purchase, Bey made references to working for the bakery, which played a role in the case later, police said.

The car dealership later became suspicious about the purchase and began trying to get the car back, authorities said. It was delivered by tow truck Dec. 5 to a Richmond used-car dealership owned by the Vallejo company, police said.

By then, Bey had been charged with vandalizing two West Oakland liquor stores Nov. 19. The Muslim-owned stores were targeted by Bey and at least six other men affiliated with Your Black Muslim Bakery for selling liquor, a violation of the tenets of Islam, authorities said.

It was a news conference Bey held Dec. 7 in relation to those charges that apparently led to his arrest in the Vallejo case.

Vallejo police said workers at the Vallejo dealership happened to see a newspaper story about the news conference that included a picture of Bey. They realized it was the same person who bought the car, and they contacted Vallejo police, who began an investigation that resulted in the charges being filed.

Bey could appear in Vallejo on the car-related charges as early as today but possibly not until Tuesday.