The man caught on video shoving 84-year-old "Grandpa Vicha" Ratanapakdee to his death in 2021 has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter — but not murder, likely meaning a much shorter prison sentence.
A full five years after the January 2021 killing of 84-year-old ‘Grandpa Vicha’ Ratanapakdee in a seemingly unprovoked sidewalk attack in the Anza Vista neighborhood, the trial of the accused killer Antoine Watson just started last month. And there was never any dispute that Watson shoved Ratanapakdee to his death, as the whole episode was captured on surveillance video. (Note: That video is disturbing.)
Watson was charged with first-degree murder and elder abuse. But when the jury’s verdict in that trial came in early Thursday evening, it was a mixed bag at best for the victim’s family. The Chronicle reports that the jury found Watson not guilty of murder or elder abuse, and instead convicted him on just the lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault.
The difference with the lesser charges is critical. As the Chronicle explains, the involuntary manslaughter conviction comes with just a four-year prison sentence, as does the assault charge.
Watson could face additional enhancements that could add as many as five years onto his sentence. But still, this is a substantially shorter prison sentence than a murder conviction would have brought.
Ratanapakdee’s daughter, Monthanus Ratanapakdee told reporters after the verdict was delivered that she was “deeply disappointed.”
“My father was an 84-year-old man who was attacked while simply walking in his neighborhood, and that loss can never be undone,” she said. “At the same time, I acknowledge the conviction for involuntary manslaughter and assault, which affirms that my father’s death mattered and that harm was done. Our family is grieving, and we will continue to honor my father’s life and advocate for the safety and dignity of our elders.”
The Chronicle has the additional courtroom detail that when “San Francisco Superior Court Judge Linda Colfax read the verdict, Watson was hugged by his attorneys. His mother, Angela Watson, sobbed from the gallery. “
The SF Public Defender’s Office defending Watson must have made a decent case that this was not a murder. The jury only deliberated for a reported six hours before delivering their verdict.
The defense argued that Watson did not premeditate the killing, but that instead it was an "impulsive act during an emotional storm,” in the words of deputy public defender Anita Nabha said. The Chronicle has a lengthy account of the night Watson had before that early-morning fatal shove, a night peppered with family argments, run-ins with the police, his car breaking down, and ultimately, a rage-fueled push that killed an elderly stranger.
“In that moment, I wasn’t thinking," Watson claimed on the stand. "Looking back at it, I think I did push him hard.” Antoine Watson was 19 years old at the time of the killing.
Per the Chronicle, the case remains incompletely decided. The jury is set to reconvene in late January to consider the other lesser charges in the case. And it is currently unclear when Watson will be sentenced.
Image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 02: People walk past a mural reading 'Justice For Vicha' on July 02, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Vicha Ratanapakdee was an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand who suffered a deadly assault while out for a walk in January in San Francisco. Family members believe the assault was racially motivated. Hate crimes committed against Asians climbed 107 percent in 2020 in California, according to a report from California’s attorney general. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
