If Watson is convicted of murder, he could face 25 years to life in state prison. The stories filled Monthanus with questions. For Sarah Wan, a community organizer who has been helping victims of violence in San Francisco, the debate brought back memories from 2010, when hundreds gathered outside City Hall to protest a series of similar reports. Sometimes Titus would walk into her bedroom to watch TV, see her turn away and ask, Mom, are you crying? Sometimes she walked into a room to see her own mother turn away, sniffling and cheering: Its OK! Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. And you have to take responsibility for the pain and the suffering you caused.". A lawyer for Antoine Watson, the defendant, argued that the case should be charged as involuntary manslaughter because he had no intent to kill. You know what she said? For his grieving family, the reckoning hasnt gone far enough. The court system, which they thought would deliver swift justice, was confoundingly slow. Why did this happen? Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. Whenever she left the house, she tested a can of pepper spray in the bathroom, the fumes burning her eyes, before tucking it in her pocket. How could it have been prevented? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, She felt similarly snubbed after asking the advocate about applying for compensation for lost wages. The group filed out to the edge of the deck. San Francisco police were quickly able to identify Watson as the assault suspect. I told him to walk that way. Rachel Marshall / (415) 416-4468 / Rachel.Marshall@sfgov.org - SAN FRANCISCO-Today, San Francisco District Attorney Boudin announced that the District Attorney's Office has filed charges against two people for the crime that took the life of 76 year-old private investigator Jack Palladino and will file charges against one person for the murder of 84 year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Left, Mr. Vicha holding his young daughter next to his wife. This is in part because the defendant already faces a long prison sentence, and also because, as one prosecutor put it, its impossible to know whats in someones heart. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in June that federal prosecutors declined to pursue hate-crimes charges in about four out of every five cases from 2005 to 2019, citing insufficient evidence.. She wanted to be strong for her sons, but she had trouble sleeping at night and broke into tears unexpectedly. The spokespersonnotedthat, if there were such documents, police could and would not be able to release them due to the incident being under an active homicide investigation. Where did the assault happen? Crime data from the district attorney offices in San Francisco County and Alameda County, which includes Oakland, show that people of Asian descent were less likely last year to be victims of crimes than other ethnic groups. In late January 2020, a man died outside a restaurant in Sydney after collapsing from a heart attack. SAN FRANCISCO Weary of being cooped inside during the pandemic, Vicha Ratanapakdee was impatient for his regular morning walk. After her father died, Monthanus had given up her night job processing customs paperwork for an import-export company to help watch the kids. At the first rally, a month earlier in March, several hundred people gathered here in support of her family. Even without much publicity, we have already received a strong response from the community, who want their voices heard, Jeung wrote in the groups first report. ga('ads.send', { She had always looked to her father when something troubled her conscience. Two days after the attack, Ms. Monthanus and her mother went to the spot where Mr. Vicha was killed and saw that his blood still stained the pavement. I have no chance to talk, how Im feeling right now, how I deal with it every time I do laundry, every time I drive to work, she said, looking in her rearview mirror, tears streaming. Monthanus wondered at first, her mind thick with shock. }); Antoine Watson, a 19-year-old resident of neighboring Daly City, was arrested two days after the attack and charged with . Antoine Watson held in attack on 84-year-old victim. assault in Western Addition that led to the death an 84-year-old man, police said. She knew what he would say if he were here now. That Antoine was still young. A teenager in San Francisco was allegedly caught on video while bum-rushing an 84-year-old man, who later died as a result of the shocking daytime attack. He believes that the attacks on the elderly and the Atlanta shootings led more people to file reports. Around the same time as the Oakland rally, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who represents the Bay Area, and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) also denounced the "white supremacy . Her father had been assaulted and taken to a hospital, a police officer said. 2021, 19-year-old Antoine Watson, was just "having some sort of temper tantrum" when he killed him. On the same day, Watson was apprehended at his home in Daly City along with 20-year-old Maylasia Goo . I wonder if its my inner racism coming out. Shortly after Vicha was pronounced dead, Monthanuss phone rang. Antoine Watson arrested assault w/deadly weapon & elder abuse. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Her hope was for all people to work together, and not blame each other. On Twitter and elsewhere, Asian Americans lit up their feeds with an outpouring of grief and rage. During one appointment, the therapist asked if he felt angry, and he replied in that sheepish preteen way, I dont know. Monthanus knew the extra sessions were probably a lot, on top of school, weekend Thai and coding classes and the therapist he already sees to manage his A.D.H.D. The trust-building really took us 10 years, Wan says. Antoine Watson, 19, has been held in County Jail since being arrested Jan. 30 for allegedly charging into 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee two days earlier in the Anza Vista neighborhood. Ratanapakdee's head hit the pavement as he fell. The question is: Does it prevent things like this from happening again? She continued: Regardless of the laws intent, how its received is, This is disingenuous, because were using the same tools to fix the problem. New images have continued to surface on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. The San Francisco District Attorney's office stated on Monday, February 8, that their detention plan to hold 19-year-old Antoine Watson without bail was granted by the court. But he says there is no evidence to suggest it was motivated by racial animus. She clutched a few sheets of paper in one hand. At one point, one group may emerge because theyve got greater population, and another group feels pushed out feels like they dont have a voice anymore, the Rev. 19-year-old Antoine Watson, pushing . The day after Monthanus and Eric's first TV appearance, San Francisco's district attorney charged Antoine Watson, the 19-year-old accused of shoving Vicha to death, with murder and elder abuse . "You will be held accountable by both the police and the District Attorney. eventAction: 'click_ads' A local ABC News affiliate had posted footage from a surveillance camera. The support was overwhelming and odd. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The two men arrested in connection with an attempted robbery that lead to the death of famed San Francisco private investigator Jack Palladino are expected to face murder charges, prosecutors said Tuesday. In April, while patrolling San Franciscos Chinatown, a former mayor and son of immigrants from Taishan and Hong Kong pointed to the bank across the street and told me his mother was mugged there a few years ago. The law was celebrated for recognizing the need to better track violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Now all that remained was the memory of him, the sound of his voice in her head. Antoine Watson of Daly City, age 21, was arrested for Murder Assault w/Deadly Weapon Or Assault w/Force Likely To Produce GBI Elder Or Dependent Adult Abuse in San Francisco County, California on January 30, 2021 by San Francisco County Sheriff. As she watched the parade of flowers and ashes float out to sea, she spoke to him. Due to the pandemic, the court had reopened at limited capacity to an enormous backlog. SAN FRANCISCO -- A suspect has been taken into custody following a deadly explosion and fire Thursday at a home in San Francisco's Sunset District that police said was being used as a clandestine drug lab.San Francisco police identified the suspect as 53-year-old Darron Price of San Francisco. Nawabi described the incident as an impulsive unmotivated assault that resulted from the mental-health breakdown of a teenager. A petite 84-year-old with soft white hair, Vicha Ratanapakdee was a lifelong Buddhist, the kind of person who embraced the world with open arms. The family of a Thai senior citizen who died after being violently knocked to the . In the next life, I hope Ill get to be your daughter again. California lawmakers have approved$1.4 million in state funds to help Asian Americans report hate incidents following the recent uptick. I met Monthanus one breezy afternoon in April at Wat Nagara Dhamma, a Buddhist temple outfitted inside a small two-story house across the street from Golden Gate Park. Mr. Vichas second shot was scheduled for Feb. 12, an appointment he would not live to make. Everyone fell silent. The submissions came from 31 states and the District of Columbia, with nearly half the reports originating in California and New York. We said, Dad, we are going to go back soon! Ms. Monthanus recalled. Its like being bullied. She thought about her father in the back of the car with the kids, their banter when she got ready for work in the morning. "These violent assaults have a devastating impact on our community as they are part of an alarming rise in anti-Asian American hate during the COVID-19 pandemic," Stop AAPI Hate co foundersManjusha Kulkarni and Cynthia Choi said in a joint statement. . The hearing was brief and procedural; a trial date has yet to be set. The future me, the real me, says, I wish we could forgive everybody, and everybody should acknowledge this bad thing happened. And right now it feels like, maybe, his family sees me as an enemy. San Francisco police say their suspect Antoine Watson, 19, attacked the senior along Anza Vista and Fortuna Avenues Thursday morning. SAN FRANCISCO, CAA San Francisco African-American teen accused of murdering 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee in January 2021 was ordered to stand trial, a judge ruled Friday.. Anita Nabha, 20-year-old Antoine Watson's attorney, said he was distressed after a "stressful encounter with police hours earlier" and may not have known the man was elderly, reports the San . ALSO READ: San Francisco Mayor, Police Chief, DA Condemn Fatal Assaults On Seniors; Vow To Address Violence. The streets were quiet. Im just a human being who feels things., He pondered this while sitting in his car, in the spot where Antoine reportedly parked on the morning of the attack on Vicha. He told me that Watson lost his job and support structure during the pandemic; in addition to attending college classes and working at FedEx, he had previously gone to therapy and taken medication. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Boudin, who started his term just a few months before the lockdown, in January 2020, inherited more than 5,000 criminal prosecutions. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Vicha Ratanapakdee, a Thailand native who his family says emigrated to America to . Surveillance video from a camera across the street captured the moment of impact. Tuesday morning, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Police Chief Bill Scott and District Attorney Chesa Boudin denounced the recent rise in violent crimes in the city, particularly the fatal assaults on Ratanapakdee and 76-year-old private investigator Jack Palladino. The first one involved Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old San Francisco man of Thai descent, who was on his routine morning walk in late January when a man in a hoodie charged in his direction and . In the . Watson is accused in the deadly attack of Vicha Ratanapakdee in the city's Anza Vista neighborhood on January 28. Among Asian-Americans, many of whom have endured racist taunts, rants and worse during the coronavirus pandemic, the killing of a defenseless older man became a rallying cry. Monthanus wore a black wool cloak over a pleated dress that flew up as the boat pulled away from the dock. Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. And these memories, the sense of injustice that still lingered in them, overlapped with other histories still. San Francisco police arrested Antoine Watson on Saturday after serving a warrant at a home in Daly City. In March, a man waving a Laotian flag told a small crowd at a protest in San Mateo, Calif., that Vicha reminded him of his grandparents, who collected cans to get by, which was why he decided to go on the front lines and patrol Chinatown in Oakland. Or am I just sensitive? Then the flood came. Let it go. A witness told the police they heard a voice shouting, Why you lookin at me? twice before hearing Ratanapakdee, prosecutors said. I want him to be close to me, she said. After the attack, as her father lay on the ground, a couple driving by stopped to place a blanket on him. Right, Mr. Vicha receiving the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. These laws can add time to an underlying sentence; in California, they can extend a sentence by three years. A web camera streamed the ceremony for friends and family abroad. She never got to decide. And the fact that another human being would do that to an elderly senior in our community is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen," said the mayor. He has pled not guilty to charges of murder and elder abuse causing death. "Look, I believe in second chances. He has pleaded not guilty but his lawyer admits that his client had an outburst of rage.. For his family, the death has been devastating both in California and abroad. His wife suggested that he have some coffee first; he told her he wouldnt be gone for long, whispering so as not to wake the kids. ET on March 15. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. We're less than two weeks away from the start of NFL free agency, which begins at 4 p.m. }) That week, on Feb. 4, the couple spoke with San Franciscos district attorney, Chesa Boudin, on a call. That he still had a life ahead of him. The segment ran with Vichas photo and the headline Family of 84-Year-Old Killed in S.F. In the weeks since it happened, Mr. Vichas death has become a symbol for the vulnerability that many in the Asian-American community feel in this moment. I know thats totally crazy, he said, but I get that feeling sometimes. Just six days after taking office, President Biden issued amemorandumcondemning "inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric" that has put Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) persons, families, communitiesand businesses at risk during the pandemic. Two days after Vicha died, Eric created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral, which included a photo of Vicha and a description of his assailant derived from a mix of facts and raw emotion: A despicable 19-year-old thug that came to his neighborhood in a stolen vehicle and decided to prove how tough he was by brutalizing a senior citizen, Eric wrote. Watson, the court documents state, had been cited for reckless driving, speeding and failure to stop at a stop sign in the hours before the attack. Antoine Watson, a 19-year-old resident of Daly City, made his first court appearance at the Hall of Justice after being taken into custody . Please enter valid email address to continue. But the legal tampering window opens two days before that on March 13, where teams will be able to negotiate with free agents before the official start of the 2023 season. . window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { Jaeah Lee is a magazine journalist based in San Francisco, with a focus on criminal justice. The day after Monthanus and Erics first TV appearance, San Franciscos district attorney charged Antoine Watson, the 19-year-old accused of shoving Vicha to death, with murder and elder abuse. Maylasia Goo also arrested. Its not because we feel bad, Monthanus told me one evening while sitting on the bed where her father used to sleep, Titus playing video games nearby. hitType: 'event', Breed went on to say that she was appearing with both Chief Scott and District Attorney Boudin to say that violence in San Francisco would not be tolerated and that any perpetrators would "be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," especially those who targeted children or the elderly. Others have injured or killed people without saying a word. The grandmother of a teen who senselessly pushed and killed a Thai grandfather has said her grandson should walk free. SAN FRANCISCOAntoine Watson, 19, who was arrested on January 30 for the deadly assault on an elderly man, 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, was held without bail after a court hearing on Monday, February 8. Inside, Monthanus held her composure as her frustration grew. I know its not a scientific poll or whatever. The responses confirmed a thought in his mind all the same. a white gunman killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis. Friends scattered the flower petals. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. The rallies had become a place where the couple could not only feel less alone in their grief but also seek answers they couldnt seem to get elsewhere. Breed spoke of the shock she felt seeing the brutal assault of Ratanapakdee on video and offered her sympathies to the family. I was like, There is something going on here. At the first few rallies they attended, Eric casually surveyed attendees, asking whether they had ever been spit on or pushed and what the race of the perpetrator was. A few hours after speaking with the nurse, a doctor called to ask permission to insert a catheter into a vein in his neck and drill a small hole into his skull, to release pressure from bleeding. The way he greeted her with relief when she came home late from work. Police later identified the suspect as Antoine Watson, 19. The weeks went on, and Monthanus and Eric sank deeper into their grief as their suspicions mounted toward homicide investigators, who never seemed able to give a straight answer; toward the district attorney, who seemed to put his interests before theirs; and toward Antoine Watson, about whom they knew little beyond the gaping hole he left in their lives. College students, high schoolers and middle schoolers organized or attended rallies in their hometowns. At one point, a neurologist hinted that if it were his father, he would most likely take him off life support. Monthanus could now see her father enter the frame as he climbed up the hill and to a corner where he would have continued straight. Give him a chance, she could hear her father saying. That same month, at a protest for Angelo Quinto a Filipino American Navy veteran killed by police officers in Antioch, Calif., in December 2020 a young woman from Hawaii broke into tears while remembering the story of her Filipino-Japanese family, migrants who worked the pineapple and sugar-cane plantations, and the night the cops detained her father, who struggled with addiction, during a mental-health crisis. Mr. Watsons lawyer, Sliman Nawabi, a public defender, said his client would not have been able to identify Mr. Vichas ethnicity through his face mask, cap and winter clothing. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. gads_event = event; A nurse came in and explained that the surgeon hadnt been able to stop the bleeding. A strange voice picked up. He was also on a waiting list to become a registered gun owner. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. After several weeks, the advocate replied that the office didnt have the budget to hire a translator. An 84-year old man is dead after a horrific daytime attack in San Francisco's Anza Vista neighborhood. Any other narrative is false, misleading, and divisive. Nawabi added that Watson comes from a biracial family background and had no knowledge of Mr. Ratanapakdees race or vulnerabilities since the elderly man was wearing a mask, hat, sweater and jeans. [1] [2] [3] The assault was captured on a CCTV camera . Watson and his associate, 20-year-old Malaysia Goo, were arrested on January 30 without incident. pg.acq.push(function() { To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. Mr. Vicha was fatally attacked during a morning walk last month. It's common sense, and we knew his intention. Body camera footage of the encounter led officers to identify Watson and a female associate he was with at the time of the assault. Anyone can read what you share. San Francisco police arrested 19-year-old Antoine Watson days after the attack. The fatal assault in San Francisco on a defenseless older man was the latest terrifying episode for Asian-Americans, many of whom have endured racist taunts, rants and worse during the pandemic. There was no evidence depicted that the elderly man did anything to provoke the attack. The Department of Police stated that they identified Watson quickly. A photograph of Vicha Ratanapakdee that hangs in his daughters home. Before sitting down, he glanced toward the back of the room and smiled when he recognized a young man. Captured on a neighbors security camera, the video of the attack was watched with horror around the world. In the United States and elsewhere, private schools asked their Chinese international students not to return for the spring semester; shopkeepers turned away customers who appeared Asian; Chinatowns emptied. Watson entered a not guilty plea to charges of murder . She stepped out to check the front and the back of their building. He Came From Thailand to Care For Family. Most of the victims were Asian.. But inevitably they would get in the car with a poster of Vicha in the back. But the overwhelming majority of hate-crime perpetrators are white.). On her drive home, Monthanus thought about a defendant she saw earlier in the courtroom. concluded that the gunman, who killed himself after the shooting, had not acted out of bias or a desire to advance an ideology, but suffered from a mental illness and had committed suicidal murder. The Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group, published a statement asking the bureau to clarify how and why it ruled out bias as a motive: Though law enforcement has said this investigation is over, for all the families who lost loved ones, the survivors, the Sikh community and anyone else impacted by hate violence, these questions will remain forever.. Rev. San Francisco police arrest man who filmed attack of elderly Asian man collecting recyclables, Man punches elderly woman in head as she walks and then plays the victim in shocking random attack in Brooklyn. Can I see my father? she asked. She was a Thai immigrant living in Alameda a diverse town, she said. There was barely a moment to grieve. As he was escorted out of the courtroom, an older woman later identified as his grandmother shouted, "I love you Antoine! hitType: 'event', Antoine, he shouted, holding up the baby. Legal Statement. Monthanus pulled him close, from behind; she didnt want him to see her crying. In the months since her father died, she and Eric had spent so much of their time at rallies, at court or on the phone with reporters and lawyers. When she came back in, she noticed his tablet was gone. Prior to joining Fox News' digital team in 2020, Manfredi worked for Fox Business' Making Money with Charles Payne as a production assistant. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. On January 29, 2021, investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Watson for 245(a)1 PC - Assault with a Deadly Weapon and 368(b)1 PC - Elder Abuse causing . Several people suggested that there was more to the video that went viral, which prompted Monthanus to walk around the block to knock on neighbors doors and ask if they would share their security-camera footage. But the steps were nearly empty. Intravenous lines and electrode patches linked his body to a constellation of machines and bags of fluid. In addition, she obtained police documents that claimed toshowWatson "on surveillancegoing to a BMW after the crime retrieving a cell phone & walk back to Ratanapakdee & appear to take photos of him as he was dying.". Last year Ms. Monthanus, Mr. Vichas daughter, was twice accosted on the street by people who told her to leave the country because, the attackers said, Asians had caused the coronavirus.