California has been widely mocked and condemned over the last couple of decades or so, thanks in no small part to soft-on-crime policies in its bigger (and bluest) cities that essentially have made it a haven for criminals and repeat offenders to run rampant, and the victim count to get bigger.
During the COVID pandemic, the Asian-American community in particular was subjected to a wave of random violent attacks in California that left some of the victims either permanently injured or dead. Legal Insurrection documented some of the horrific crimes here.
One of them who was killed was 84-year-old Vicha “Grandpa Vicha” Ratanapakdee, a Thai man who was walking in his neighborhood one morning in January 2021 when he was viciously pushed to the ground by a man who ran up to him at an accelerated rate of speed. His head hit the pavement, knocking him unconscious. 48 hours later, he passed away.
The video of the attack is deeply disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised:
Though the family believed the attack was racially motivated, hate crime charges were not pursued by then-San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was recalled in part over this case, nor by current District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
During the trial, the suspect, 24-year-old Antoine Watson, admitted he killed Ratanapakdee but basically boiled it down to him having a bad day and randomly picking Grandpa Vicha as a target for his supposed frustrations because he believed Vicha was “judging” him:
Watson testified a week ago that he was in a haze of confusion and anger. He claimed he didn’t know Ratanapakdee was Asian or elderly at the time of the unprovoked attack.San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Dane Reinstedt began the prosecution’s closing arguments on Tuesday by talking to the jury about the legal definition of murder and why prosecutors argue that’s the charge that fits this crime.Both sides agreed Watson killed Ratanapakdee. Watson even admitted to it on the stand.
Watson’s attorney, however, argued that it wasn’t a malicious targeting and claimed Watson’s intention was not to kill Ratanapakdee, even though photo evidence was presented showing Watson returning to the scene and standing over the unconscious man a short time later.
Watson never called 911, and he testified on the stand that he didn’t because “I was scared the police might arrest me. I was panicking.”
Unfortunately for the Ratanapakdee family, this is San Francisco we’re talking about here, where a defendant who admits to killing someone and who shows no remorse over it can literally get away with what many feel was cold-blooded murder:
A jury did not find Antoine Watson guilty of murder when it returned a verdict Thursday for the January 2021 attack on 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Jurors found Watson guilty on the lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault.
The office of San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins declined to comment, saying that the jury was still empaneled. Jurors will return Jan. 26 to hear arguments on aggravating factors and sentencing will be scheduled once that is completed, the office said in an email.
They didn’t even find him guilty of elder abuse.
As for the sentencing phase, here is how that breaks down:
The jury is scheduled to return to the courtroom on Jan. 26 to decide on an issue related to aggravating factors in the case, then the judge will determine sentencing.Antoine Watson faces up to four years in prison for the assault and four years for the manslaughter. Additionally, the jury found two additional sentence enhancements to be true: that Watson rendered victim Vicha Ratanapakdee comatose and that Ratanapakdee was more than 70 years old, which would add an additional consecutive prison term of five years. Each of the four aggravating factors, which include that Ratanapakdee was “particularly vulnerable,” could result in another year added to the sentence.
Infuriating.
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –
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