{"id":78741,"date":"2026-01-20T18:20:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T02:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=78741"},"modified":"2026-01-20T18:21:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T02:21:06","slug":"grandpa-vicha-stop-the-hate-and-elusive-quest-for-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=78741","title":{"rendered":"Grandpa Vicha, Stop the Hate, and Elusive Quest for Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Sunita Sohrabji<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A jury has found Antoine Watson not guilty of murder and elder abuse in the 2019 fatal attack on \u2019Grandpa Vicha\u2019 Ratanapakdee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Monthanus Ratanapakdee (left) and her late father Vicha Ratanapakdee. (Justice for Vicha Instagram photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.<\/strong> \u2014 Monthanus Ratanapakdee diligently attended Superior Court here every day for 6 weeks as a jury deliberated the fate of the man accused of fatally attacking her father Vicha.<\/p>\n

\u201dI was in court every day, because I wanted the jurors to bring justice for my father and to fully recognize the fear this attack has caused in our community, especially older Asian people and their families,\u201d Monthanus Ratanapakdee told American Community Media, after the jury delivered its verdict.<\/p>\n

But justice remained elusive in one of the seminal cases of the Stop the Hate movement, which began during the pandemic, as the AAPI community faced a dramatic rise in hate incidents and violence.<\/p>\n

Not Guilty<\/h2>\n

A jury deliberated for 6 hours Jan. 15 before finding Antoine Watson not guilty on the charges of attempted murder and elder abuse, which carried a sentence of 25 years in state prison. He was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and assault with intent to cause great bodily injury, both felonies.<\/p>\n

Watson now faces a maximum sentence of 9 years in prison, but \u2014 given that he has already served 5 years in jail \u2014 could walk free at any point after San Francisco Superior Court Judge Linda Colfax delivers her sentence. The jury will reconvene Jan. 26 to hear aggravating factors in the case and victim impact statements. Colfax will sentence Watson after the hearing.<\/p>\n

Monthanus said she was deeply disappointed by the verdict. She had sought a conviction of 2nd degree murder and elder abuse.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 28, 2021, Ratanapakdee \u2014 who was given the nickname \u2018Grandpa Vicha\u2019 \u2014 was taking his customary early morning stroll around his neighborhood in San Francisco\u2019s Anza District, when Watson, 19 at the time, ran across the street and shoved the 84-year-old Thai man onto the sidewalk. Ratanapakdee died 2 days later of a brain hemorrhage.<\/p>\n

Hate Crime?<\/h2>\n

Watson was arrested 2 days later and has been held in San Francisco County Jail for almost 5 years, without bail, as he awaited his trial. AAPI community leaders had asked San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins\u2019 office to add hate crime charges to the case. But Watson was never charged with a hate crime.<\/p>\n

In a similar set of circumstances in 2019,\u00a0Keonte Gathron<\/a>\u00a0went on an 8-day crime spree that included robberies, carjackings, thefts, and a brutal attack on a Chinese grandmother, Yik Oi Huang, who died a year later from the injuries inflicted on her during the attack. Huang was also on her daily stroll through San Francisco\u2019s Visitacion Valley neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Gathron, who represented himself during his trial last fall, was found guilty of 25 counts, including Huang\u2019s murder. Like Watson, Gathron was never charged with a hate crime.<\/p>\n

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Eric Fleming announced Dec. 3 that Gathron will serve 2 consecutive life sentences, plus 31 years. Gathron has asked for a re-trial; his next court appearance is March 5.<\/p>\n

Racial Motivation<\/h2>\n

Russell Jeung, co-founder of\u00a0Stop AAPI Hate<\/a>, told ACoM that \u2014 in both cases \u2014 there was no clear racial motivation. \u201cThere was no racist language, and no clear evidence of racist intent. It is very difficult to prosecute hate crimes when there is a lack of racist intent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jeung grew up in the neighborhood where Ratanapakdee was attacked. \u201cMy mom used to walk that street every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The numbers of hate incidents and crimes against the AAPI community have remained about the same since Stop AAPI Hate was founded in March of 2020. Over half of AAPI adults, and 72% of AAPI youth experienced some form of hate incidents 2024.<\/p>\n

Systemic Racism<\/h2>\n

\u201dWhat we\u2019re witnessing now is systemic racism: mass detentions, stopping visas from certain countries, the demonization of immigrants,\u201d said Jeung. \u201cIt leads to racial profiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an earlier interview, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told ACoM that hate crimes are notoriously difficult to prosecute. \u201cThey require a proof of intent. By design, a hate crime must originate with the hate element, which is often difficult to establish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHate crimes are an augmentation of sentencing: it is seen as something additional,\u201d said Bonta, adding that hate crimes enhancements add just 2 to 5 years to a sentence.<\/p>\n

Fighting Anti-Asian Hate<\/h2>\n

\u201dVicha Ratanapakdee\u2019s death became a lightning rod to fight against anti-Asian hate. It was powerful to see so much family and community coming out in support,\u201d said Jeung. \u201cVicha became a powerful icon for the community. We need to stand together as a pan-Asian community. It is strategic and essential that Asian Americans fight together to battle hate.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the community is showing signs of division. Earlier this year, the San Francisco Historic Preservation Committee decided not to grant\u00a0historic landmark status<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0billboard mural in Chinatown\u00a0commemorating Vicha Ratanapakdee. Jeff Chen, one of the owners of the building, has told Monthanus and her husband that the mural would be taken down.<\/p>\n

Watson\u2019s Sentencing<\/h2>\n

Monthanus told ACoM that several members of the community have written statements about how the brutal attack has impacted their daily lives, including recurring fears as they walk the streets of San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very disappointed by the verdict,\u201d said Monthanus. \u201cJurors did not get to see a picture of my father, taken as he was dying. They did not get to hear about his pain. Jurors did not fully see the facts and the truth,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want any other families to experience the pain my family has endured.\u201d<\/p>\n

No Intent to Murder<\/h2>\n

During the trial, Watson testified that he had been having a bad day. Kicked out of his aunt\u2019s house the night before, Watson slept in his car after a traffic accident and short encounter with police.<\/p>\n

The next morning, Watson\u2019s car wouldn\u2019t start. He started yelling and shouting, according to trial transcripts. Witnesses testified that Watson shouted at Ratanapakdee: \u201cWhy are you looking at me?\u201d He then ran across the street and shoved the 84-year-old man to the ground. Watson testified that he thought Ratanapakdee was in his 40s and did not realize he was elderly.<\/p>\n

\u201dIn that moment, I wasn\u2019t thinking. Looking back on it, I didn\u2019t think I pushed him that hard,\u201d Watson testified. \u201cI thought he was judging me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watson went back and watched Ratanapakdee on the ground, bleeding out. But he did not call 911. \u201cI was scared the police would arrest me and confuse the situation and think I did something,\u201d he testified.<\/p>\n

\u2018My Father\u2019s Legacy\u2019<\/h2>\n

Monthanus Ratanapakdee and her family have filed a civil lawsuit against Watson. \u201cIt\u2019s not about money; he doesn\u2019t have any,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201dWe want him to face the consequences of his actions, and show some remorse,\u201d said Monthanus, adding that Watson never showed remorse during his trial. \u201cHe has to learn that having a bad day does not give anyone the right to harm someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dMy father\u2019s legacy cannot end with this verdict,\u201d said Monthanus. \u201cHis legacy should be one of teaching young people to respect their elders and treat them with care, so that they can walk safely in their neighborhoods without fear,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BySunita Sohrabji Jan 20, 2026 A...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local","category-u-s-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78741"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78742,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78741\/revisions\/78742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}